


Tickets To Peru (to be with you)

by AnotherTrashyFangirl



Series: Tickets to Peru [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Don't add to other sites, Drinking, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Roommates, art major asahi, art major terushima, blowjob, drunk nishinoya, first few chapters may be rewritten, past relationship, skipping all the adult stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-05-15 16:00:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19299025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherTrashyFangirl/pseuds/AnotherTrashyFangirl
Summary: (Unlike the title, they do not go to Peru. Character tags will be added as the story goes on)Nishinoya didn't know that his whole life would change this quickly after high school.Terushima never imagined he would feel this way.Asahi always wanted to make things up to Nishinoya and apologize, but he couldn't fathom he would be doing it this way.Just a simple art show sent these three men into a future none of them would have predicted.





	1. The End and The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I realize the chapter title is unoriginal. But aren't we all at this point?  
> This is a 200 hundred follower for my Tumblr. I hope you enjoy! It's also my first time writing fanfiction in years (since my weird YouTuber phase when I was 12/13) so please bear with me as I get the hang of it again!

"Noya-san, wake up."

Nishinoya just squeezed his eyes tighter. "No, leave me to sleep."

Tanaka sighed. "You definitely drank too much last night," he threw a water bottle on his friend as he stood up. "Come on, my mom is going to be home soon."

"Really?" Noya perked up, chugging the water before speaking again. "Can I meet her?"

"Not in that state."

The former libero laid back down. "Since when did you become my parent?"

Tanaka just rubbed his forehead. "Just go home, I'll text you later."

So he did. Nishinoya returned home, which was a struggle with a pounding headache.  _Yeah, I drank too much last night_. He couldn't remember what happened after his fifth drink, only laughing with Kinoshita, who didn't drink anything that whole night, and the pounding headache of the morning. _I wonder if Asahi got drunk at his graduation party._

Grandpa Nishinoya was sleeping on the couch, the radio blaring AC/DC music. Now he was able to sleep with the loud noise, Nishinoya could not know. As he stepped into the room, his grandpa's eyes shot open. "Yuu! Back already?"

"Yeah. Ryuu wouldn't let me stay longer. His mom is coming back after working abroad for a few years, so he wants it to just be him and Saeko Nee-san there."

"Makes sense," with that, he fell back asleep.

Nishinoya smiled. Birds chirped faintly outside, reminding Noya of how beautiful the day looked. He went back outside, deciding to take a walk to the local park. A few stray clouds drifted across the sky and a faint breeze blew around him. The sidewalk felt familiar under his feet, guiding him to the local park.

Staring at a squirrel that ran in front of him, Noya didn't notice the woman walking his way. They collided, hitting the ground. The papers the woman was holding scattered everywhere.

Looking over to her, Noya instantly felt bad. "I'm so sorry!"

She smiled, wiping some dirt off her face. "Oh, it's alright. It's my fault really, I was staring into space..."

"Hey, I was doing that too. Don't feel bad."

One of the papers caught his eye. "What's that?"

She picked it up. "The college art show? You've never heard of it?"

"Well, I'm sure I might remember if I knew the name."

"Ah, sorry."

"Stop apologizing!"  _You remind me too much of him._

She handed Noya the paper. "Look, I'm in a bit of a rush. Just take the poster, alright? Have a nice day!"

Like that, she picked up her papers and skipped away. Noya, baffled, looked at the poster.  _Karasuno Region College. Where have I heard that name before?_

_Oh. Right. Asahi goes there._

"That'll be fun," he said to himself, tucking the poster into the pocket of his pants. "Sunday, the sports centre at nine in the morning."


	2. Tired Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an end goal for this story but no idea how to get there. Wow. We'll just see how it goes.  
> It's also been forever since I wrote smut, and I was always bad at it. Sorry if it's cringe!

Asahi out his pencil down with a groan. "Stupid. Why did I decide to major in the arts anyway? My parents offered me a job, why didn't I take it?"

An art show was coming up, its goal to attract fresh high school graduates to the school in a flashy way. Asahi's art teacher had given him the task of creating an acrylic painting that reflects the feeling of having a lost lover.  _I know the feeling, but how do I put it on a canvas?_

_No. I need to get over Nishinoya. We're in different schools and pursuing different dreams. Besides..._

"How's the project going?"

Asahi jumped. "Yuuji! At least knock first."

Yuuji laughed, placing a bag of groceries on the table. "I got some ramen. Want it for dinner tonight?"

"Heck yeah. It's been so long since I had any."

Yuuji began putting the groceries away, talking about his job. The larger male just picked up his pencil and began to draft again. As Terushima reached for the broccoli he noticed Asahi's distraught expression. "Are you sure you can handle the project?"

Only a whine came in response. Terushima put the broccoli down and walked over to Asahi, wrapping his arms around his torso. "Babe, you gotta tell me."

"I gotta come up with a painting that represents the feeling of having lost a lover. I know the feeling, I just can't put it down graphically. It's too complex, and everyone feels it differently. Why is Urayama-sensei so mean?"

Terushima squeezed his giant. "Hush. You can do this. Think of how it feels, and try and find something that looks like it."

"That's what she told me to do! It's not helping!"

An idea formed in Terushima's head. "You need to relax for a minute and see this with a clear mind," he let go of Asahi, placing his hands on the broad shoulders before him. "Would you like that?"

"Head? Yes, please."

 With a swift hand, Yuuji took out his boyfriend's ponytail, placing the hair tie on the table. "I love you," he whispered into Asahi's ear as he pushed the chair out, making it easier for Yuuji to maneuver himself. The pierced boy got on his knees between Asahi's legs. "Hey,  do you remember the nipple piercings I got at the start of the school year?."

"What about them?"

"They're finally healed."

Asahi pat Yuuji's head. "That's great! But you know what's greater?"

Yuuji rolled his eyes. "I know. Giving you head without making a sound. Got it."

The zipper slid down with ease, revealing Asahi's black briefs. Asahi lifted his hips to help Yuuji take everything off, leaving his lower half completely exposed. He was half hard and growing at the sight of Yuuji in front of him. "Use your piercing, please."

"I always do that though," Yuuji commented, sticking his tongue out to show off his tongue piercing. he had originally got it as a dare, but now he had grown to love it, and so has his boyfriend. Then he licked Asahi's tip, being sure to dip the piercing into the slit. Asahi groaned, gripping Yuuji's hair.

Yuuji kissed the tip, spitting on it. He swirled his saliva around the tip, letting it drip down the shaft. Asahi hummed in pleasure. Yuuji looked him in the eyes as he put the tip in his mouth, sucking hard.

"Oh, that feels so good."

He bobbed his head, taking more in his mouth. The piercing scraped in all the right places, the feeling bringing Asahi to his full length. The content man sighed as Yuuji took his head off, licking from the base to the tip, massaging the testes as he did so. Asahi let out a weak squeal as this happened, beginning to leak pre-cum. He gripped the blond hair tighter, forcing Yuuji's mouth back over his shaft.

A tear began to form in Yuuji's eye as he deepthroated Asahi, swallowing over him. This resulted in Asahi letting out a proper moan, bucking his hips.

Yuuji managed to tear his head off. "You like when I do that, don't you? You go absolutely crazy for me and it's so hot, you know."

"Just continue," Asahi breathed, his face a pleasured mess. "I'm going to cum."

Yuuji licked his tip. "Want me to swallow it? You like when I do that."

"Oh," Asahi bucked his hips again. "Please do so."

He took Asahi back into his mouth as far as he would go, nose barely brushing his hairy base. Asahi moaned again, gently thrusting into his lover's mouth. "Babe, you're so hot."

Asahi kept thrusting, going harder and faster with each movement. Yuuji couldn't help but reach down and palm himself.  _I love it when he's needy like this. In fact, I just love him in general_.

"Babe - oh, Yuuji! I'm coming!"

With a few violent thrusts, Asahi came inside Yuuji's mouth, his hips and thighs twitching with the force of his orgasm. Yuuji silently gagged at the taste of the sperm, but he held out, pulling up and swallowing. But Asahi's wasn't done, and some squirted on Yuuji's face.

The giant panted heavily as he opened an eye. "Oh, I'd apologize, but the sight of you with cum on your face is so cute."

Yuuji wiped the substance off his face, licking his fingers to get it off. "It's alright babe. Anything for you."

They stayed in their positions until Asahi regained his breath. "You want to fix that?" he suggested, nodding to the hand Yuuji had on his boner. His boyfriend blushed, standing up and waddling to the bathroom.

 _Wait, I've got it!_ Asahi perked up, grabbing the pencil and continuing his draft, the perfect idea in his mind.

Minutes passed until Yuuji came out of the bathroom. "Oh?" he exclaimed. "You got an idea?"

"Yes!"  _Of course, I'll never tell you how I made it up. At least not right now._

Yuuji walked closer, examining the paper. "Peacock feather?"

"See, my idea is to have a peacock feather that's all colourful. But it's slowly turning grey, and little bits of it are falling off. That's what the feeling of losing a lover is. It's like losing your colour and little bits of yourself until there's no more of you left."

The blond scratched his head. "That's complex and depressing. Just like your personality."

Asahi looked up from his work. "Oh shut up, you," he smiled, poking Yuuji with the pencil.

The two shared a long look before bursting into laughter.

"You'll do great at the show, I just know it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote about half of this before saving and closing the tab. I was not able to find this draft and nearly cried, because it took nearly half an hour to write this. I thankfully found it. Holy hecc.


	3. Framed Teardrops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay but like I have no idea what to do for this chapter so I'm going to vomit up every idea I can and hope it's good.  
> 'Chainsaw' by The Band Perry came on as I started writing this and let me say, it matches the mood of this chapter pretty well.

"Yuu, my boy," Grandpa said through sobs. "You're going to college so soon. You just finished high school not too long ago."

Noya placed another picture frame into the box on his bed. "I'm not leaving just yet. Just getting an early start on packing, that's all."

He wasn't going to live in the dorm of the college, he planned to rent a cheap apartment if one was available.  _I hope I can find some roommates or something._ Next, he reached to the back of his dresser to grab the last picture. It was in a small frame, hardly noticeable past all the other pictures of his family and friends.  _Why would I have a picture tucked way back here?_ I didn't help that he couldn't see the top of the dresser.

Noya pulled it down and looked at what was in the frame.  _Now I know why this one was at the back. Why didn't I throw this one out?_

It was him and Asahi together. Asahi smiling at the camera as Noya struggled on his toes to kiss the too-tall boy on the cheek. A cute picture, he would have admitted, but there was one problem: Asahi had left him sad and broken just a day before he was due to set off for college. Noya said nothing as he chucked it on the bed, silently telling himself to burn the picture later. Asahi was gone, and so was his love for the giant.

His grandpa sighed at the sight. "I'm sorry about what happened with him. I'll leave you on your own now."

 _You couldn't have stopped it, don't feel bad._ Is what he wanted to tell his grandpa, but he was already gone. Noya pressed back tears as he closed the picture box, grabbing the packing tape and scissors. The sound of the tape unrolling was not enough to block the sound of the yelling in his head. The memories were coming back; every tear, every word yelled in a frenzy of emotion.

* * *

 

"Please Asahi-chan, it's your last day with me. Can't we do it?"

Asahi sighed again, it was possibly the fourth time in the last few minutes he done that. "I told you, I'm just not ready to do that kind of thing with anyone."

Noya grabbed his boyfriend's shoulders. "I'm not just anyone, I'm your boyfriend! Your best friend! The person you've loved since you met."

With a shrug, Noys was brushed off as if he were a house fly. "It doesn't seem like that to me right now. Sex has been all you want to talk about with me for the past week. Am I really your lover or your fantasy projection?"

No response.

"Answer me!"

The yell cut through Noya. It was true that he loved Asahi with everything in him, but he also wanted to have sex with him. He couldn't think of what to say to get himself out of the mess he created.

"Asahi," he used no honorifics, setting a serious tone for what he was saying. "You know I love you, and I'd never use you like that. It's just that we've never done it, and it'd be nice to try something before you leave. You know, a little goodbye thing?"

But it wasn't enough to waver the ace's mood. "I still don't believe you, Yuu."

That was the final straw for Noya. Asahi had never taken interest in doing anything more than a small make-out session, always getting angry or just straight up leaving once the topic came up. _If he doesn't want to, he could just explain why better._ Noya let the tears come, feeling them fall down his cheeks and into his mouth. He took a shaky breath and pushed Asahi out of the chair he was sitting in, letting his emotions take over his actions.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Get out of my sight," Noya mumbled just loud enough for Asahi to hear. Asahi just looked confused. So Noya helped him stand up.

"You get outta my sight, damnit! I don't want to continue this if you can't be open to the idea of something new."

Shock flowed through Asahi. "Yuu, I thought that you of all people would understand."

Noya punched him in the jaw. "DON'T CALL ME THAT NO MORE!"

Asahi gripped the spot that was just hit. He winced at the feeling. "Nishinoya," the sound of calling his kouhai by his last name was foreign but felt right for the mood. "Why are you doing this?"

Noya didn't say anything, he just left out a huge sob and wiped his tears away. "Like you'd understand. Just leave me, Azumane. Leave me like you always do. Leave me like you did last year, and will always manage to do. Don't bother trying to fix this."

By now Asahi had started to cry as well. He'd faced the boy's harsh words before, but this time they felt final. Without a final word, Asahi ran out of the house, not stopping until he was out of sight of Noya's bedroom window. Noya watched, barely able to see Asahi through his tears.  _It's for the best,_ he told himself.  _He never loved me enough to trust me with such a thing. It's stupid, but it's Asa- no-_ Azumane _that can't see what's going on._

* * *

 

Even though it had happened a year ago, it still goes through Noya's head as if it happened just last week. He didn't realize that he was now lying on the bed - box now forgotten - and clutching the picture of him and Asahi to his heart. If he were thinking clearly, he'd know he lost his mind. Crying in regret and loss of the love of his life.

_Damnit, I think I'm still in love._

He put the frame down and wiped his face, grabbing his phone. He needed to talk to someone about this, and his grandpa just wouldn't understand this weak feeling in his heart. "Hisashi, please pick up."

 _Chikara would be too strict, Ryuu would fool around and just anger me, Kazuhito doesn't even know what happened._ He felt bad about not telling his friend about the truth of the break-up, but now wasn't the time to explain. Right now he just needed a steady mind to give him advice.

"Hey, Noya-san. Something wrong?"  _He always knows when something is wrong._

"The break-up. It's coming back to me again."

"Need someone to vent to? I'm free for the next hour."

Noya smiled. "Well, not really. I'm just feeling bad about what I did."

"Really? You're always angry at Azumane-san when you think about it."

"Well, now it's different. I'm feeling bad and I want to apologize to him about it."

"He might have forgiven you by now. It's been a year since it happened."

"Yeah, but I don't know..."

Their conversation went on for a few more minutes until Noya came to a conclusion. "Okay. I'll apologise to him whenever I see him next. I'm taking the picture out of the frame too. Not burning the picture, but I think it'll stay in my underwear drawer."

Kinoshita chuckled. "Putting him where you wanted him in the first place. Smart move, Noya-san!"

"Shut up man!" Noya blushed.  _I definitely don't still want to do it with him. Nope._

Deep down, he knew that thought was a lie. Part of him still loved Asahi.

"Okay, okay. You done?"

"I think so. Thank you, Hisashi."

"Any time, Noya-san."

They hung up. Noya was feeling better now. His tears had dried and his throat burned for water. He ignored the feeling, favouring to curl up on his bed and clutch the photo close to him, wishing that Asahi was still in contact with him.

_He's probably moved on. I should stop feeling this way. Just today, then I'll let go._

Noya fell asleep just like that, dreaming of past memories he shared with Asahi and wishing it had ended differently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you can see why I have the angst tag on this story. Don't worry, there won't be that much. I hate angst myself.  
> I'm also not publishing chapters at set times, just whenever I finish writing. It usually takes an hour or so to write one.


	4. Painted Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some domestic fluff to mellow out the tone of the last chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urayama-sensei here was just supposed to be one of those characters that only get mentioned once. But now she has a personality. She's just like my own art teacher. Oops.

"Alright class, pack up. We still have one more day of class time before we need to get our artwork up!" A short, perky woman clapped her hands as she called for the end of the period. The outside of her right hand was covered in graphite - a side effect of sketching for long hours. She watched her students pack up in content, gazing at their art.  _This year's show is going to be special, I can just feel it!_ As she cleaned up her own station, students bid her goodbye, promising to finish their pieces the next day. The trail of bodies stopped as her drawings were all packed up nicely in a red file folder.

 _Looks like everyone cleaned up early for me. Thank goodness!_ She smiled to herself at the thought of arriving home early. But a cough from the back corner of the room pulled her out of the daydream. She adjusted her glasses and looked to where it came from. A student was still working, blue and green paints smeared on his face and in his long hair, which had almost completely abandoned its hair tie.  _Oh, Azumane-kun._

Asahi looked drained as he cleaned the gold paint off his brush, replacing it with a dark grey. If Urayama looked close enough, she could swear that the man had been crying just minutes before.  _This calls for an intervention_.

"Azumane-kun?" She called. Asahi was slow to respond, jerking his head up after a few seconds had gone by.

"Oh, was it time to go?" His voice was cracking. "I'm sorry for causing hassle, I'll clean up now."

"Talk to me, Azumane-kun. What's bothering you?"

He took a bit to respond, but Urayama was willing to give him as long as he needed. As much as going home early pleased her, she wanted to see that her students go home without anything to worry them. "Well, it started with this assignment, I think," he started. "Or maybe it was that thunderstorm last week."

The paintbrush he was holding flew out of his shaky hand, just barely missing the canvas in front of him. "Damnit," he whispered, picking it up and placing it in his water cup.

"Want me to?" the teacher asked, to which Asahi gratefully nodded and stepped away from the paint.

"Just, the topic you assigned me has brought up some memories that I don't like to think about," he finally spilled. "There was a guy I was with and it ended badly. A huge breakup and we lost contact with one another."

Urayama suddenly felt bad. "You could have told me this was a touchy subject. I could have given it to someone else."

Asahi shook his head. "No. Or yes, I can't decide."

She shorter teacher tilted her head to the side. Upon noticing, Asahi dove back into explanations.

"You see, I'm dating Yuuj- Terushima," she nodded her head. "And I love him a lot. But every time I think about my lost love, despite the horrible fights we had - don't worry, nothing  _too_ bad happened. Just a bunch of temporary breakups before our final one - I think I still have feelings for him."

Urayama carried the water cup to the nearby sink and dumped it. "Well, you need to decide. Someone who put you through a lot of pain in the past, or the person who you have a stable relationship with right now."

Asahi sighed. "I don't think I'm in the mental state to decide right now."

The woman sympathetically smiled down at him - which was only possible because he was now slumped over in a chair - and patted his hair. "Why don't you go home and rest? Shave a little, maybe?"

"Yuuji likes my beard, and there's a scar under it that I don't like showing. From a fight I got in a while ago."

"Azumane-kun, I didn't think you would be the kind of guy who gets into fights!"

Asahi looked at her in surprise. "Oh, thank you, I'm not. FIghts scare me. Besides, it was mainly a verbal fight until I called him the wrong thing and he punched me."

 _Something tells me that this ex of his did it to him. I'm not going to bring it up though._ "Just go home and relax, alright?"

He nodded. "Alright."

* * *

"Asahi, what took you so long?" Yuuji snapped his head toward the door of their apartment to see Asahi enter, his hair a mess of paint and knotting.

Asahi smiled and hugged him. "Just talked with Urayama-sensei about the project. Don't worry too much."

Yuuji smiled and pat his back. "Well, I'm happy you're home now," he would have nuzzled his face into the taller's hair as he usually does, but it was a mess of half-dried paint. "Want to shower together?"

Only a nod came as a response. Yuuji let go and led Asahi to the bathroom, grabbing towels and a pair of pyjamas. He had to go to work in about an hour, to his dismay, so only Asahi would be changing into pyjamas afterward.

"Let me," Asahi said, turning on the faucet and setting it to a high temperature. His boyfriend also liked burning hot showers, which was a plus to their relationship. Showering together was easy when they didn't argue over the temperature the whole time. Yuuji stood back and took his shirt off, showing off the fully healed piercings in his nipples. Asahi glanced over and smiled. "You look lovely, my dear."

The blond smiled as he took out his ear spacers and placed them gently on the sink counter. "Still gotta be careful though. Don't want an infection."

Asahi stripped himself as well, taking out whatever hair was left in the tie. He still had all the muscle that he did in high school - Yuuji made him work out. When he was completely naked he looked over at his boyfriend, who was also naked. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Reminding me to shower."

Yuuji burst out laughing. "Just get in! You're wasting water just standing there."

So they did. The water hit them with a sting, but it was a nice sting. They alternated spots under the water, making sure to get fully wet. As Asahi was standing under the water, the dried paint started to come loose. Yuuji grabbed Asahi's shampoo - which was bought from the woman's section, there's nothing good for long hair in the men's section - and squirted some onto his hand. Asahi smiled and turned his back to his boyfriend, knowing Yuuji would do his hair for him.

Large hands reached up and pulled Asahi's hair out of his eyes and lathered on the shampoo. Yuuji worked it in, scrubbing the clumps that stuck together with the paint. Asahi hummed in content and closed his eyes. Once it was fully worked through Yuuji turned his boyfriend around, making sure the showerhead was right above him, and rinsed out the lather. The scent of pomegranate and other exotic berries filled the air and relaxed the stressed man.

"Asahi, when I go to work you better nap."

"But what about dinner?"

"We have leftovers, silly."

The giant smiled. "Right."

Once all the shampoo was out of Asahi's hair, Yuuji reached for the conditioner. He repeated the same process with it, but he didn't wash it out immediately. If the conditioner stayed in for a while the hair would end up even silkier. He grabbed Asahi's body wash - this time from the men's section - and pouf, squirting the wash onto it. Asahi raised an eyebrow.

"Eager to touch all of me?"

The shorter man turned pink and buried his face in Asahi's chest. "I just want to help you relax. I'm not a perv all the time."

Asahi kissed his head. "I know. Just teasing you."

"You idiot."

Yuuji got back up and began to scrub the pouf over Asahi, massaging him in the process. Every once in a while Asahi had to brush hair out of his eyes, but it was a smooth experience overall. Yuuji didn't get all grabby like he usually does when they shower together. Then they washed out the conditioner and stood under the water for a bit, just enjoying the feel of their bodies hugging one another.

"We should get out," Asahi suggested. "My fingers are getting all wrinkly."

His boyfriend agreed, so they both got out. They dried off, making small talk while doing so. Asahi mentioned doing the same thing for Yuuji, but the latter kept refusing. Yuuji wasn't really one for being pampered, but Asahi internally began to make plans to pamper his stubborn partner.

When Asahi was in his pyjamas and tucked into their bed, Yuuji said goodbye and went out to work. He wanted to stay and cuddle, but he wouldn't have given his boss a notice far enough in advance, and it pained him to leave his broken boyfriend alone.

_He understands, but I still hate to leave him. At least work is tolerable and seems to go by quick most days._

He stepped through the sliding glass doors into the large library, saying hello to a regular patron who never seemed to sit in the library to read their books, preferring a closed-off area just outside the entrance. As usual, the front desk had his co-worker Sugawara Koushi sitting at it, sorting out some issue with checking out books or something else. The grey-haired man perked up at the sight of Yuuji.

"Hey, Terushima-san! How's Asahi?"

The person Suga was talking to thanked him and left. Yuuji nodded his head to them as he slipped past. "Not that great today, if I'm being honest. I think the art show is getting to him somehow."

Suga stood up and moved a file folder onto the counter. "That sucks."

"Yeah," Yuuji continued, taking his jacket off and hanging it on the nearby coat rack. "His topic is supposed to be on lost love, and it's reawakening some memories he hates to think about."

"I think I know what's up, but it's not my place to tell."

The blond wheeled the returns cart in front of the desk. "He'll tell me when he's ready. He always tells me things when he's ready."

As Suga was about to add on to the conversation, a dark-haired man stepped out from behind his desk. "I'm happy you're here, Terushima-san, but are you just going to gossip with Koushi your whole shift?"

Yuuji bowed his head. "Sorry, Sawamura-san. I was just about to put these returns back on the shelves."

"Then please do that. I can't focus on sorting out this book sharing issue with you two talking like that."

The two apologized and Daichi went back to his work. Suga leaned over the counter to whisper to Yuuji. "You remember NIshinoya Yuu? That crazy-good libero from Karasuno High?"

_What does he have to do with this?_

"Yep. Short, scary as hell, kinda cute. What about him?"

"Don't talk about him to Asahi until he talks about Nishinoya first. Trust me. He'll kill me if he found out I'm telling you this. I don't know why I even brought him up, now that I think out it."

Yuuji just pat his head and leaned back. "Don't worry, I'll forget about it. Besides, I gotta put these back before Sawamura-san gets angry again."

Suga nodded and got off the desk, going back to the folder and reaching for the phone. Yuuji wheeled the cart to the shelves, sighing. He doesn't know why he decided to do this, it was his least favourite part of the job, but he wasn't able to coordinate a fundraiser like Suga was able to.

 _I hope Asahi's going to be alright._ He had to work until seven, which was earlier than normal. Usually, he'd work until about eight or nine, but the library had to close early because professional cleaners were coming to clean the carpet, which hadn't been done in a few years too long.

Instead of standing around, Yuuji went to work, enjoying the task this time, as he forgot all about Suga's mention of Nishinoya, which made him think inappropriate things about the guy. Things that shouldn't be thought of at work or when you're in a loving relationship with someone already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thing about Urayama: in the early draft of the story, she didn't exist at all! This character was named Taichi, and he owned the local autobody repair shop. He was the guy who knew Nishinoya and automatically apprenticed the kid. I like Urayama way better than Taichi. Taichi just showed up like once and hired Noya, then he disappeared from the story.


	5. Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the art show has arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *President Mic voice* ARE YOU READY? All the chapters have taken me just a few hours, while this one took a few days. Oh well.

Asahi adjusted the canvas on the grand easel before him. The painting had taken longer than expected, so he was satisfied with the result. All the places where he wanted the paint to blend together had perfect blending, and even when he was having a breakdown he didn't get any stray strokes that didn't belong. Urayama-sensei had told him it was amazing and that he would definitely succeed in a career in art. He looked to the stand beside him - Yuuji's - and marvelled at his boyfriend's oil painting of two boys playing in a field of rye.

"I hope I get to do something with drawing next year," Yuuji whined. "I  _hate_ painting so much."

"You know that all the first years do paintings though."

Yuuji stepped back from his easel and toward Asahi. "You're right. Then I'm all the more motivated to pass this year!"

The long-haired man wrapped an arm around him. "You'll do great," he kissed the head below him and guided them to a nearby bench - the show was taking place in the park - and sat down together. Yuuji cuddled into Asahi's broad chest, resting his head on Asahi's shoulder. He caressed Asahi's freshly shaven jaw, which had somehow managed to start growing stubble again in the two hours since it was shaved. Of course, his chin remained unshaven.

"Today is going to be exhausting."

A laugh rumbled through Asahi. "I guess. We don't have to stay at our places the entire time. As long as we have someone watching the paintings, we're good. But Urayama-sensei would be sad if we leave, so I don't think we should leave for long if we are."

"You really don't like making other people angry or sad, do you?"

"I guess not. I used to be worse, you know."

The blond scoffed. "No way."

Asahi ran a hand through Yuuji's hair in return. "Really! I broke my friends down in selfish acts and made one person so angry, they gave me this scar!"

Yuuji's face perked up as if he just remembered something. "Oh yeah, who gave you that scar?"

 _Suddenly interested?_ "Uh, I still don't feel comfortable with that story. I can't even think about it without breaking down. I'm sorry."

He shifted in his seat. "Maybe one day, though. Don't worry."

His boyfriend wasn't satisfied with that answer though. "Excuse me," he whispered, standing up. "I need to use the bathroom."

"But the closest bathroom is in the cafe down the street." The porta potties weren't set to arrive for another half hour.

The blond shuffled his feet. "Then it'll be a nice walk. I'll bring you back a coffee or something."

With that, Yuuji walked away, navigating his way out of the park. Asahi retreated to his thoughts.  _I need to be open with him. He's not trusting me at this point, and I really don't want a repeat of what happened with Nishinoya._

Trying to pry his mind off what just happened, Asahi observed their stands again. Aside from - obviously - needing their paintings, there were also little cards with their names in them, and on the underside of the cards were the themes that their pieces were based on. Yuuji's was "reconnection."

A small group of people walked by, all holding a little pamphlet.  _First visitors of the day_. It would only get more and more crowded as the day went on. The pamphlets were just an explanation of the art show, the history of the school's art program, and a showcase of the student's best artwork. A girl from the group broke off and ran over to Asahi, giggling as she almost dropped her papers.

"Azumane-senpai!" She called. Asahi opened his eyes in bewilderment. He recognized the voice, but hardly her face.

"Yacchan?" He responded, tilting his head. Yachi stopped right in front of where he sat and smiled. "It's nice to see you after so long. What's been going on with you?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just finished all my exams on Friday, so I thought I'd come here with some friends as a treat. It's surprising to see that you're majoring in art. I never would have thought!"

 _She's made friends outside the team. I'm so proud!_ "Yeah, I never really told anyone. I bet that caused a lot of drama."

The look on Yachi's face darkened. "Nishinoya-san didn't play well this year. He missed you so much, but he refused to admit it. He even tried to get Ennoshita-san to ban anyone from talking about you."

He couldn't help it, but Asahi let out a quiet "oh shit" in response. Nishinoya was extreme, but he didn't know the ex-libero went that far. "Sorry about him. It's mainly my fault he did that. Hey, did you go to nationals this year? I haven't been able to keep up with sports news this year as much as I'd like to have."

Yachi forgot about the dark topic. "We had a backup libero this year. He really came in handy. With his help and the crazy development of us second-years, we were able to make it to the finals, but lost just barely."

"Oh, so close!"

"Yeah!"

Someone yelled Yachi's name, a slight tone of impatientness in their voice. The blonde sighed. "I'd love to keep chatting with you, but I have to go. Goodbye, Azumane-senpai!"

"Goodbye!" It pained him to see Yachi walk away, but he knew she couldn't stay forever.

 _I wonder who else I'll meet today._ He totally didn't want to see Nishinoya. Nope.

* * *

"Too early," Nishinoya whined as he poured himself a bowl of cereal. His grandpa patted him on the back and walked to the door. Because Noya was going to be out for the morning and early afternoon, he decided to take advantage of the situation and invite one of his girls over.

As he ate his breakfast he let his mind wander. He hoped it would be worth the few hours out of his day. It's not like he had anything better to do, but doing nothing was sometimes better than doing something boring. And doing anything out of the house was better than being inside and hearing his grandpa and his girl. Hearing them talk in the room over gave him a sudden burst of motivation to finish his breakfast.

He slurped up the last dribbles of milk and got up and placed the bowl in the sink. With a quick trip to his room to grab his bag, he was back at the door. "I'm heading out now! I'll be back around noon maybe."

"See you!" his grandpa called back. With that, Noya walked out the door and into the warm morning. There was a pleasant breeze in the air and only a few clouds fluttered the sky. Noya enjoyed the walk, watching the squirrels play across the road.  _If Asahi is there I'm immediately leaving. No questions._ _Don't need that negativity on such a nice day._

As he got closer to the park he recognized Terushima across the street.  _I'd say hello, but it's not like he'd remember me. Stupidly sexy bastard._

Commotion from the park could now be heard. Noya crossed the street and walked up to the stand at the entrance. A girl and a boy sat there, both wearing bright yellow vests and holding stacks of pamphlets. The boy smiled at him. "Are you here for the art show?" he asked, bouncing the stack in his hands. Noya nodded and he was handed a pamphlet. He murmured his thanks as he entered the park, glancing through the pages.

"I'm not going there, I don't give a shit about your history," he whispered to the pages, flipping through them until he reached a small map of the park and where everything was.  _Looks like the closest section is the first year paintings._

He folded the pamphlet up and put it in his bag, heading towards the giant easels and canvasses. There were depictions of realism and abstract, vague scenes and specific things. One thing he noticed was a flap on every easel near the artist's card. On closer inspection, it was a covering for what theme the painting was trying to represent. The one he was at depicted 'serenity' as a young boy playing his guitar under a giant willow tree.  _These guys are good._

Wandering around the section, many paintings caught his eye. From a couple riding a motorcycle to an omelette, the students had painted almost anything he could have imagined. Caught in their beauty, Noya seemed to forget about the other people in the park. Then one caught his eye: a single peacock feather. It was turning grey from the inside out, with bits of vane and barb falling out. It was nothing special, he knew, but he couldn't stop staring at it. It seemed so out of place compared to all the paintings that used the entire canvas, as this one just used a bit of space in the centre. Curious, Noya automatically lifted the theme flap.

_Lost love._

_Huh. That is exactly what it feels like._

He looked at the artist card.

 _Azumane Asahi._   _Of course he'd know what it feels like._

A tear slid into his mouth. He didn't expect to cry about Asahi in public, but here he was. Trying to take his mind off the man, he forced himself over to the next painting, which didn't help his case much, as it was also sad-looking. Two boys playing in a field of rye. They wore white shirts and happy looks on their faces. Noya couldn't figure out why it made him sad, it just did. Flipping up the theme flap, he realized why it made him so sad.

_Reconnection._

_I want to reconnect with him._

For a moment Noya thought of sitting in front of the easels until Asahi showed up, but he knew it would make him look weird. Not knowing what to do, he stepped back and wiped his tears away.  _Maybe I'll find something to drink and go home. I don't want to be like this in public._

* * *

Urayama dropped the cooler onto the table. The students who were supposed to set up and work at the refreshments stand hadn't done their job, favouring to flirt with people who passed by their drawings.  _That's what I get for setting the task to the fourth years with the lowest marks in the class. Oh well, no credit for them._

"Thank you for helping me, Azumane-kun. I'll give you a bit of extra credit for your final mark."

Asahi blushed and dropped his cooler. "You don't have to. I was just bored. Yuuji went to the cafe down the street, so I had nothing to do."

She smirked and adjusted her ponytail. "Well, I hope you weren't _doing him,_ especially in public."

He blushed deeper. "That's not what I meant!"

"I know, don't worry!" her gaze wandered until she spotted someone crying in front of Asahi's canvas. "Hey Azumane-kun, you wanna check up on your painting?"

Asahi looked confused. "I guess," he said, walking toward his stand. He stopped mid-step for a second as if wondering if he should really go over there. Then he put his foot down and proceeded slowly, eventually breaking into a run. "Nishinoya!"

 _He knows the kid?_ Urayama shook it off and went back to organizing the drinks. She didn't have time to deal with it, and she wanted Asahi to do it himself if he knew who was crying.

* * *

"Nishinoya!"

The voice snapped him out of his thoughts. It was a voice he could have never imagined he'd hear again. He looked up to see Asahi running towards him, his hair longer and beard partly-shaven, just like he used to have it in high school.

"Azu..." He was too weak to say the man's name.

Asahi slowed down when he reached Nishinoya. They stood like that, just staring at one another until Noya moved closer to Asahi. The taller opened his strong arms and Noya fell into them, sobbing and letting it all out. He could feel Asahi's chest convulse a few times and knew that he was crying too. Noya wouldn't admit it, but he never imagined he would enjoy crying so much in his life. Wrapped up in long, protective arms in an emotional embrace. Last time he cried this much, those arms were rejecting him.

_Oh God, I'm happy to have found you._

They didn't need to say it out loud because they knew exactly what the other was thinking. Noya squeezed him tighter and looked up at his face, which was hard to do as his face was pressed into Noya's hair. Asahi's eyes were closed, but they slowly opened. His face was messy and hot already, and his nose was dripping. Noya imagined he didn't look too good himself. Asahi's lips curled up in the beginning of a smile.

"There's a lot I need to say to you," he whispered, voice shaking.

"And you," Noya responded. He may have as well just mouthed it, it was that quiet.

"Who's going first?"

"I think I should," Noya declared, sniffling. "There's a lot I gotta apologize for."

Asahi nodded, nuzzling his forehead into Noya's hair. He wouldn't have done this to any other person, but right now with Noya was an exception.

"The way I treated you was horrible I can't even begin to imagine how mentally damaging it was for you. All those things came from a panicked and stressed mind that was struggling to comprehend what was happening. You didn't deserve any of that. I tried to force you to do something you weren't comfortable with doing, and for that, I'm truly sorry. There are no words that can describe how I fucked up everything between us, and I hope you understand."

The owner of the strong arms didn't say anything for a while, soaking in and working through all of what Noya just said to him. Noya felt Asahi's chest vibrate and the man let out a small rumble - the one he always does when he's thinking.

"You still have a lot to explain, but I guess I forgive you."

"Don't "I guess" me at a time like this, Azu!"

Asahi lifted his head and properly looked down at Noya. "Azu?"

"I don't know what exactly I can call you now, especially since I called you Azumane the last time we... spoke, and right now I'm too lazy to say the full thing."

"Cute!" Asahi smiled wide before hiccuping.

Noya knew he shouldn't have, but he blushed the slightest bit. "Maybe we can learn to forgive each other and start over? No pressuring, no toxicity. Just a nice relationship together?"

That's when Asahi let go of him.  _Shit. Did I just mess up in a big way._ Then Asahi grabbed him by the shoulders with a regretful look in his eyes. "I can't do that, Nishinoya."

"Oh, I understand if it's too much to get back together with someone who did this kind of thing to you."

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that..."

"Oh?"

Asahi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. But right as he opened his mouth to explain, someone walked right up to them.

"Asahi, would you care to explain what's going on here?"

The man in question yelped in surprise and looked to the side. Noya followed his gaze.

"Well, babe?"

_Wait, Terushima Yuuji is his boyfriend?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An anticlimactic ending, in my opinion.
> 
> If I'm being honest, that bit at the end was the most difficult to write. I'm horrible at apologies and have a hard time comprehending how my actions affect others and how they react. What to say to those people in an apology is hard for me to do. Either I never had to do it much before or there's some mental problem I have, I don't know. It's just always been weird to try and feel what others feel, you know?
> 
> I should see a therapist.


	6. Words of the Smaller Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just an automatic continuation of the last chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I can keep up the trend of long chapters. Of course, it means less frequent updates, but they'll be higher quality and a more satisfying read.  
> Also, for the sake of sticking to a nice storyline (and for my sanity), this fic will skip over the biggest parts of the process of moving into a new house.  
> Is nobody gonna talk about how Tanaka mentioned that he's been to Noya's house twice, and each of those times, Noya's grandpa had a different young, beautiful woman draped over his shoulder? Is that something we're just gonna forget? I want more about this. Are they his caretakers? They can't be. Are they, you know, with his grandpa? ????

_Good thing they had Asahi's favourite coffee. He won't drink anything else if I tried._ Yuuji walked back down the block, excited to get back. The cafe had been crowded with students from his school who just wanted to fool around instead of putting on the show. The park would be quiet, and he would share a nice coffee with Asahi, saying hello to the occasional person to stop at their stands.  _Ah, that would be perfect_.

But what he saw was far from perfect. He saw Asahi with his arms wrapped around a smaller man and face pressed into his hair. He saw the two of them talk to one another with meaning and passion - a special bond. He saw them talk with their faces close.  _Too close..._

Yuuji quickly made his way over as Asahi grabbed the man by the shoulders. "Asahi," he mildly panted. "care to explain what's going on here?"

Asahi yelped and turned toward him, giving Yuuji enough space to see who his boyfriend was talking to; a man with dark brown hair and a blonde tuft that fell between his hazel-brown eyes. As the large eyes met his own, Yuuji could tell who it was.

_What's Nishinoya Yuu doing with Asahi?_

"Well, babe?" Yuuji asked again when Asahi didn't respond to him. That caused the bearded man to let go of Noya and fully turn to his boyfriend.

"I have a lot of explaining to do to you. I should have done this sooner, really..."

 _Oh no._ "You're  _cheating_ on me? What the fuck!"

Noya opened his mouth to speak but Asahi yelled over him. "That's exactly  _not_ what's happening! Just calm down and let me talk to you."

With a sip from his own coffee, the blond calmed down. "I bought you coffee to drink, but if you're not careful you're gonna drink it through your ass!"

Asahi stopped tensing up and just let everything out. His past relationship with Noya, their breakup, how it all tied into the art show project, and that Noya was apologizing for everything, and so was he. Yuuji kept sipping his coffee, soaking in everything. He figured the story made sense, so he lowered his arm toward Asahi and gave him his cup. Asahi drank before talking again.

"Ah, thank you. Anyway, you happy now? That's why I've been so tense and secretive about my past. That's why I fear arguing with you so much, and why this project here messed with me so much."

"Okay, but I'm still suspicious about all this."

That's when Noya stepped forward. "Look, if you think I'm trying to steal Azu away from you, you're completely wrong. I'm just apologizing for all the stupid and irrational shit I did a year ago."

Yuuji nodded his head. "Well, thank you for apologizing, then."

Then Asahi looked down at Noya. "Hey, you're going to college, right? Where are you going?"

"Not the one you guys are in, but it's sorta close to it."

Asahi looked at Yuuji. "Could he become our roommate?" he must have noticed the weird look on his boyfriend's face. "I mean, yeah, it'd be weird to have your boyfriend's ex living with you, but I bet Nishinoya doesn't have a place picked out to live at yet."

_It's like a dream come- stop. You're in a relationship. Stop. Stop. Stop. Sto-_

"Uh, Yuuji? Why are you staring like that?"

"Oh, sorry," he apologized. "Just thinking about it."

Noya looked baffled. "Really, Azu? You're just gonna invite me to live with you after all this?"

"I'm always this kind," Asahi winked at the shorter before turning back to Yuuji. "Well?"

"If he pays his portion of the rent and doesn't interfere with our relationship, then I guess he can."

The former libero gasped. "You'll let me? Thank you so much!" He hugged the others in turn. "I'll have to hurry with my packing then. I just started a few days ago and wasn't planning on moving out so fast."

"While you pack, Asahi and I will be here. Come back when you're done packing," Yuuji was planning things on the spot, trying to suppress the joy inside him. "When the show is over we'll help drive your things to our place. We obviously can't drive over a mattress or anything, so you're gonna have to sleep on the couch until we can get a moving van."

Noya's excitement faded. "What about your landlord? Will they let me move in on such a short notice?"

"They're pretty chill, so Asahi will be able to convince them to let you move in."

He then became excited once more. "Alright, I'll go do that now!" With that, he ran out of the park. The couple watched the man go. Asahi faced Yuuji once more.

"I hope you don't mind, really. You know that I don't like to hold grudges, and he is my ex, so-"

The blond shut him up with a kiss. "I'll be fine. I know you're loyal, and I've wanted to get to know Nishinoya from the first time I saw him. His hair is so cool!"

"And the blond tuft is natural!" Asahi bounced.

Yuuji's jaw dropped. "No way!"

The bearded man hugged him. "This is why I love you so much."

Butterflies fluttered inside Yuuji. It was always a wonder to him how Asahi could make him feel like this, like he was falling in love for the first time all over again. Yuuji smiled and melted into his boyfriend's touch, hugging him back. "And I love you," he soon pulled back. "Better drink up before it gets cold."

"Ah, yes," Asahi pulled back and took a long drink. "It's not cold! I just burned my tongue, thank you very much!"

Yuuji nuzzled his head into Asahi's chest, enjoying the comments he made.

* * *

"Grandpa, I'm home!" Noya shouted, warning his entrance. If the girl was still there, he didn't know what he'd do.

No response came. He debated turning around and going right back to the park, but decided to venture into the house. The silence was comforting and eerie all at once. Then he reached Grandpa's bedroom.

"Grandpa?" He cautiously opened the door. To his relief, it was just his grandpa sleeping. After a quick search of the house, it was clear that the girl had left a while ago.  _Well, time to stop thinking about that weird topic._

Noya entered his room and grabbed the closest box that hadn't been filled yet.  _I'm going to need at least a few pairs of clothes. And my basic belongings. These posters would be nice, but I'll have to ask them specifically._

_Wait, shouldn't I let Grandpa know I'm moving out so soon? Nah. I'll do it after I pack a week's worth of clothes, give him some time to sleep._

The task seemed easy, but Noya couldn't help but struggle to do it. _Pack the custom t-shirts or plain ones? Terushima seems like he won't judge, but I don't know..._ He eventually decided on just plain shirts and his favourite pairs of pants. Once the box was full he moved onto small personal items, choosing his laptop, hair and general hygiene products. After an hour of packing his basic things into three medium-sized boxes, his grandpa was still sleeping.  _I don't care if he complains about being woken up, he still needs to know I'm moving._

Grandpa wasn't in his room, but standing in the hallway. "What're you making so much noise for? You're not moving out yet, so relax with your boxes, alright?"

"Ah, that's what I needed to talk to you about," Noya looked at the ground. "I met an old friend of mine and he offered to let me move in with him and his roommate."

"Who's the friend?"

 _Please be okay with this._ "Azumane. Remember him? My ex."

Grandpa furrowed his brow. "Are you really getting back together with him after what happened?"

"No! I'm getting back with him. I saw him today at that art show and we made up and apologized. We still have a way to go before we're back to the friends we were before, but this is a start."

"Well," Grandpa sighed. "I can't exactly tell you what to do now that you're eighteen. Just be careful, alright?"

Noya breathed deeply with relief. "Don't worry Grandpa, I will!" With new hope in his heart, Noya headed back out to the art show to let Asahi and Yuuji know that he was done.  _The show will be over soon. Thank goodness it doesn't go for too long!_

When he returned he saw just Yuuji at their paintings. He was just sitting at the nearby bench on his phone, occasionally glancing around. "Terushima!"

"Yo, Nishinoya!" Yuuji's eyes lit up. "You done?"

"Yep! I've packed a week's worth of clothes and a few belongings and hygiene stuff. My grandpa also told me I can move in with you guys, so I'm all set as long as your landlord allows it."

Yuuji stood up. "Asahi had to step out of the park for a bit to call them, but he texted me saying that he got the go-ahead. I think our teacher pulled him away to do something."

Noya nodded slowly. "Alright. Want to get to know each other better while we wait for him?"

He couldn't tell if it were his imagination, but Noya could swear he saw the blond blush at the question. "Y-yeah, that'd be a good thing to do if we're going to live with each other."

They sat on the bench together and talked. About themselves, their wanted careers, their pasts, and eventually Asahi.

"So," Noya began. "How'd you meet Asahi?"

Yuuji closed his eyes and smiled at the memory. "We have a few classes together, as we're both aiming for the same career area. Our teachers kept putting us together for projects and stuff, so we just kinda progressed to friends, lovers, and now living together. You?"

"In high school, we were in the same club. Because of that, we spent a lot of time together. So we progressed to lovers. After a temporary break up between school years, we got back together. Then..."

"Ah," Yuuji closed, remembering what Asahi had explained an hour ago. "You seem pretty cool. I think I'm gonna like you."

Noya sat up. "What do you mean by that?"

The blond jumped in his defence. "I mean that I feel like we're going to get along."

"Well by that case, I feel the same way about you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a 200 follower special for my Tumblr, but I now have almost 270 followers. At this rate, I'll reach my 300 follower mark before finishing this book. Trust me, this book is about one-third of the way done. It's my biggest fanfic project since I was like 13. In fact, it's my ONLY fanfic project since I was 13.


	7. Plaything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first night of the boys living together. While Asahi and Noya begin job hunting, Yuuji heads to work.  
> .
> 
> Nishinoya grabbed a box and tossed it to Asahi. "This one's heavier, so you can take it out!"
> 
> The taller heaved as he caught it. "The only thing I'm taking out is Yuuji."
> 
> Yuuji's heart fluttered at the comment, but he felt inclined to respond with sass. "Oh, so I'm just a thing now? Your sexy little plaything?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you like how I'm actually writing chapter summaries now?  
> This chapter might be shorter than the last two. There's not much happening in this one, so it's mainly dialogue moving everything forwards.  
> I know exactly how I want this book to go, but I'm struggling to figure out how to get to the end. That's what I get for not properly planning my stories before I write them.

After an hour and a half of work and extra help via Nishinoya, the art show was fully taken down. Urayama-sensei had thanked the extra helper and tried to sway him into coming to their school, but was saddened to hear that he was going to college somewhere further in Miyagi. The new trio of men got in Asahi's car and headed to Noya's place to pick up the few boxes he had packed.

Yuuji shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It wasn't because it was physically uncomfortable, but he didn't like how Asahi had suggested Nishinoya sit in the passenger seat instead of himself. Perhaps it was jealousy, how the two talked enthusiastically but carefully to one another. He couldn't tell what he felt, so he didn't say anything. Then Asahi pulled into a driveway - he had found Nishinoya's house without needing directions.

 _Stop, it's only natural. They were friends for a few years and dated for a while. Of course Asahi would still remember where he lives._ They all got out of the vehicle and went to the front door, Nishinoya letting them all in. Yuuji followed the old friends to the shorter's room, where he was surprised by the sight.

Nishinoya's room was almost completely bare, the closet door open and only a few outfits remaining in it. "Wow," Yuuji finally spoke. "Do you not have much or did you pack up fast?"

The man in question seemed surprised for a second before responding. "Yeah, I'm a quick packer. That, and I'm taking only what I need. Don't want to crowd your living space."

Asahi weakly smiled. "You don't have to worry about that, we have a decent-sized apartment. We don't have an extra room for you, though. You'll have to sleep on the couch until we can fix up the small workout and studio room."

"And put up a curtain to separate it from the rest of the living room," Yuuji reminded. He looked around the room again, glancing at the band posters that still hung on the dark grey walls. Judging from those, he could tell that maybe living with the younger guy was going to be good.

Nishinoya grabbed a box and tossed it to Asahi. "This one's heavier, so you can take it out!"

The taller heaved as he caught it. "The only thing I'm taking out is Yuuji."

Yuuji's heart fluttered at the comment, but he felt inclined to respond with sass. "Oh, so I'm just a _thing_ now? Your sexy little play _thing_?

"T-that's not what I meant at all!"

He laughed and walked over to Asahi, wrapping his arms around him. "I know babe, I'm just poking fun at you." Yuuji kissed his cheek and pat him on the back as he walked out to the car, leaving Nishinoya alone with him.

Nishinoya handed him a box. "You gotta help too, you know."

"Oh, sorry. I am." Yuuji slightly bowed his head, which gave him a glimpse into the box he was holding. Something at the top poked out to him. _A picture of Nishinoya and Asahi? It's probably from when they were together. Why does he still have it? He can keep pictures of whoever he wants, but still..._

"What'cha staring at?" the younger asked. Then he glimpsed at the box and gasped and turned his head away. "Yeah, I still have that picture. So what? Part of me hoped I would still find Azu again and get back together with him. But now he has you, and you two are happier together than he was with me, and I hate intruding on relationships, so I'm not doing anything about it."

Yuuji lowered the box and stared at Nishinoya. As much as his subconscious wanted to be with the man, he knew he'd fight to stay with Asahi at any second. "You better not interfere with my relationship with Asahi."

Nishinoya flinched and turned away, grabbing another box for himself. "I won't, I promise. I don't like Azu like that anymore."

Something told Yuuji that wasn't completely true, so he decided to keep up a guard for the time being. With a final look at the picture in the box he sighed. "Let's just get these into the car and forget this conversation happened, alright?"

"I can't promise anything, but I'll try."

At that moment, Asahi returned to the tension. He stopped in the doorway at the sight of the two men staring each other down. "Guys?"

They looked over, heavy looks melting away. "Asahi! What took you so long?"

The man scratched the back of his neck and tilted his head. "I was long? I thought that was fast."

Yuuji shrugged. "It just matters that you're back. Now, grab another box and help."

Asahi hummed and grabbed the last one. "Only four?"

"It's a slow moving process," the man in question replied. "I don't want to overwhelm your place."

" _Our_ place now." Yuuji corrected as he walked out of the room and outside. He inwardly hated the other two being alone together, but he wanted to get out of that room as fast as possible. _I'll have to talk to Suga at work tonight. Today has been a mess._

He made it to the small cream-coloured car and placed the box in the open trunk next to the one Asahi had put in. Soon after he stood up straight the other two came out and followed suit. After a bit of talking, they agreed that Yuuji would sit in the passenger's seat with Asahi. Though Yuuji wouldn't say it out loud, he could tell Nishinoya was so obedient because of their conversation earlier. Even Yuuji himself couldn't tell how the atmosphere between them changed so quickly. He shrugged it off as he sat in his seat, waiting for Asahi to slip in as well.

Once he did, Yuuji was quick to wrap his arms around the other's shoulders and kiss his neck. Asahi gasped and leaned his neck into it. Yuuji didn't expect that reaction to a simple kiss and he pulled away. "You alright there?"

"You surprised me. I didn't expect you to be so clingy today."

"I'm not clingy!"

A cough came from the back seat. The couple looked back and quickly remembered that Nishinoya was there. Yuuji gave a challenging smirk, which Asahi definitely noticed. Instead of explaining right there, Yuuji shook his head and whispered "I'll tell you later" as he sat back in his own spot.

The ride back to the couple's apartment was quiet. Nishinoya fidgeted in his seat, excited to see what the living space looked like. Yuuji began to feel a bit sick as he thought about what he should say to Asahi later that day. Maybe, if he played his cards right, he'd be able to avoid the conversation until after he talked to Suga at work.

"We're home!" Asahi called back to Nishinoya as he pulled in the parking lot of the large building. He drove into their reserved parking space. The building wasn't one of those huge apartments that were basically skyscrapers on their own, it was just a row of shops with living areas above them. "We live in that one above the game store. It's the smallest, but it's all we can afford on our own."

"That and you don't work that often," Yuuji pointed out as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

Asahi whined. "It's not my fault I can't handle so much pressure all at once!"

Nishinoya poked his head in between them. "Where do you guys work?"

"I work at the local library and Asahi works at an art studio on specifically Mondays and Fridays. He prepares the supplies for painting lessons on Mondays and cleans up and changes the displayed artwork on Fridays."

The beardie in question chuckled. "I could have explained that myself."

"But that's so cool, Azu!" Nishinoya exclaimed. "Of course Terushima wants to brag about it."

Asahi blushed faintly. "Ah, thank you."

Feeling that small pit of jealousy again, Yuuji got out of the car and went to the trunk. He opened it and grabbed the two smaller boxes - the ones with Nishinoya's photos and other private things - and went to the door. The other two noticed and did the same.

 _I hate it when they talk together, yet I leave them to do so. Perfect logic, Yuuji._ He _really_ needed to talk to Suga now.

Asahi shifted his box around and unlocked the door. Yuuji lead Nishinoya up the steep stairs and into the room. The shorter's eyes lit up at the sight of the small living room, sectioned-off workout/studio space, tiny kitchen, and door to the only bedroom in the place. "Woah," he breathed.

Yuuji laughed and placed his boxes on the floor. "It's not much, but it's ours."

Nishinoya jumped. "Maybe if I start working as well, we'll eventually be able to move into a bigger space!"

"Nah. If we moved into a bigger apartment, that would bring a lot of stress into our lives. We're in college, so we don't need to fully worry about how big our space is yet. We just have to be happy with what we have and make the most of it."

The shorter sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

Then Asahi entered. "Sorry, there's not much space. We don't really use the living room for much so it can easily be used up. Just have to move the studio and workout things to the other side and keep the TV in the middle. Then you can take the window space. Wait, we need the window for the painting though..."

Yuuji set his boxes on the couch. It was a small one, but it was perfect considering Nishinoya's height - but he'd never bring it up to the guy's face. _Just make sure he never finds out how many times Asahi and I have fucked on this thing, and he'll stay put until we find a mattress for him._ "Sorry that this is all we have. Normally our guests don't stay overnight, let alone live with us."

Nishinoya shrugged. "I think I can get used to it. My body was practically formed for sleeping on couches."

The beardie beside him pat his head. "Hey, where should we keep your clothes?"

"Don't know. Maybe keep them in the boxes?"

The immediate response was as harsh as it was caring. "No, we can't have that. We're going out and getting at least a rolly storage thing. And maybe a futon to replace that old couch." Then he got all shy. "It, uh, has gotten pretty dirty in the past."

Not knowing what he meant, Nishinoya looked up at him. "What happened?"

Yuuji could cut in before Asahi's blushing gave it away. "Ramen while watching the new IT movie isn't the best thing to do."

Nishinoya didn't press, just nodded.

"Well," Asahi changed the topic. "Should we all head out again? You need to go to work, and Nishinoya and I can go get the furniture."

A small uneasy feeling crept up in Yuuji's stomach but he batted it away. "Sure."

They all exited the apartment. Asahi and Nishinoya went to the car, while Yuuji insisted on walking, as it was only a five-minute walk. Before they could all go their separate ways, Asahi got out of the car again and caught Yuuji on his own. _I guess this is what he thinks I meant when I said later._

"Yuuji, what did you want to talk about?"

The man turned to face Asahi, whose face was concerned. "Uh, can it wait until we're all at home again? I still don't fully know everything."

"Were you thinking of breaking up?"

 _What_. "No! No! Where did you get that idea from?"

"Earlier today when you saw Nishinoya and I at the show you freaked out. And now that we're all trying to get settled, you're acting weird."

Yuuji closed his eyes and wished he could disappear. "I just need time to settle into having another roommate. Everything's moving so fast."

"I could tell something happened between you two at his house."

 _Oh, he did notice._ "Can I explain later? I need to get going."

Asahi looked disappointed but agreed with the proposition. He wrapped Yuuji up in a big hug, softly pressing their lips together. Yuuji sighed into the kiss, pressing back for a bit before pulling away. "I really gotta go, babe. Maybe, once our conversation is over, I can make up my weirdness to you?"

His boyfriend shivered at the thought, knowing exactly what Yuuji was talking about. "Maybe in the shower, so he doesn't hear us. You better be quiet about it, too."

Yuuji smiled. "Don't worry about a thing." He pulled away and started on his walk.

* * *

Yuuji sighed in content as he walked through the familiar sliding glass doors into the library. There he was quickly met by one of his coworkers, who was carrying a large stack of papers. They nodded at each other before going their separate ways. Suga was signing a notebook for a young teen, so Yuuji knew not to bother their conversation. He slipped behind the counter and made his way to his small desk. He turned the computer on and waited.

"Ah, Terushima-san, you have that look on your face again."

He looked up to see Suga draped over the edge of his desk. "Really? I thought it wouldn't be obvious that I'm thinking about something serious."

Suga smirked. "It's not obvious, I just said that so you'd tell me what's on your mind. You should know by now that's what I do."

"Stupid trickster."

"You know you love me."

"Sure."

They stared one another down before laughing. Yuuji's computer fully loaded up and he clicked into the program that all the librarians used to check on the book-sharing system. Once he made sure the system was running smoothly, he clicked out of it and turned to face the silver-haired man with him.

"Tell me."

Yuuji stared at him. "I'll be telling you before I tell Asahi, just so you know. It's just all so weird and complicated and I don't know how to deal with it."

Suga pulled up a chair. "Good thing it's a slow day today. We'll have a lot of time," he coughed. "So, tell me everything.

He explained the whole situation, from first seeing Nishinoya at the park to his silent challenge with him. Suga reacted through every turn of the story. "So this all happened just today? That's fast."

"I think everything I'm worried about is nothing, I'm just stressed from it all happening in one day," Yuuji scratched his arm. "That, and Nishinoya saying that he wanted to be with Asahi again. I mean, he said he's given up and forgetting about it, but I can't stop thinking about it. What if he _does_ intrude and take Asahi? They're alone right now, buying furniture an-"

Suga interrupted. "Stop. If Asahi's anything like how I remember him, he won't leave you, trust me. And Nishinoya won't steal him from you."

The blonde nodded. "Well, before Sawamura-san breaks us up, there's also another thing that's been bothering me. It's really intrusive and I feel guilty about it."

"Oh?"

The air seemed to get heavy, or maybe it was just Yuuji's sweat. _How do I say this without seeming like I'm cheating on Asahi? I love him, but I can't escape these feelings of Nishinoya._ "I know I just met Nishinoya in person earlier today, but there's something I can't stop feeling."

Suga stayed silent, eager to find out. Normally Yuuji would blurt everything out, but he was being exceptionally slow today. He watched on with a careful gaze as Yuuji stared at his hands.

"I... I can't stop thinking about how cute he is. His smile, his voice, his face, everything. Of course, I need to get to know him better to fully know the answer to this, but I think I'm falling in love? This feeling is one I felt - and still feel - with Asahi. I feel so guilty. Am I cheating? Am I a freak?" Then he let out a whine and put his face in his hands.

At that moment, Daichi walked into the room. Before he could shout at the two, he noticed Yuuji's position and Suga reaching his hands out to him. "Hey," he could hear his partner say. "I really think you should tell Asahi _and_ Nishinoya about this. Maybe look up this term 'polygamy' while you're at it, it might help you. But definitely talk to them first before doing anything huge. Alright?"

Yuuji looked up. He felt _wrong_. This had to be cheating, right? To be in love with someone else while in a relationship. "I'll do that, thank you."

Daichi quietly walked over and crouched beside them. "You better tell Azumane. If things aren't directly said to him, he overanalyzes the simplest of things," he chuckled. "Though you already know that."

The blond smiled. "Yeah. One time I didn't directly tell him what we're having for dinner, and he thought I was going to starve him to death!"

They all shared a laugh before calming down and remembering where they were. Suga gasped. "Oh yeah, we should probably get to work. It's a slow day, but that doesn't mean we don't have anything to do."

Daichi stood up. "Yeah, get to work, fools!"

Yuuji's worries melted away. "Alright, let's do this!"

The rest of their work went smoothly. The serious topic wasn't brought up again, to Yuuji's delight. Once the clock hit 5:00, the three and their other coworkers smiled. Although most of them had to return in the morning, they were always happy about the early closing time. Suga locked the doors once they were all out, and they exchanged their goodbyes as they all went their separate ways.

Everyone was happy to go home, but Yuuji was secretly dreading it. To tell his partner he was also in love with their roommate? That was sure to trigger a breakup. As Yuuji crossed the road, he prayed for the best to happen, and secretly that Nishinoya would leave and make things easier on his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this would have been hard to write, but as soon as I got to writing it (after staring at a rough outline for a week) it just flowed out easily. Get used to long chapters, because I just got back into my writing groove.


	8. Looking for a Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Yuuji comes home, Asahi automatically asks him what was wrong. They go outside to discuss the matter.
> 
> .
> 
> "Hey, don't cry," Asahi put a hand on his boyfriend's back. "Whatever you're thinking about, it can't be that bad, right?"
> 
> Yuuji sniffled and looked up. "No matter how much you say that I know you'll hate me for this."
> 
> "I could never hate you."
> 
> "Well, it's about Nishinoya..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to hurt me to write as much as it will hurt you to read it. It might not be as long as the last chapter but whatever.  
> I'm looking at past text convos I've had to mimic the emotion. How was there emotion in a text convo? I don't know but there was. What were the convos about? Not telling because I might cry again even though it was ~6 months ago and both the person and I are over what happened.  
> I may have an oversharing problem.

"Hey Azu, when will Terushima be back from work?"

Asahi finished his bite of macaroni. They had finished making dinner early and decided to start before Yuuji got home. No ill intent was behind it, but they were starving and couldn't wait any longer to eat. "It's Sunday, so he should be home right about now. Also, we have exams starting tomorrow, so what are you going to do all day?"

He watched Noya frown. "Maybe I'll go for a walk. Apply at as many jobs as possible. Other than that, I don't know."

"Yuuji has an English exam, and I have a biology exam, so I think I'll be home before him. My biology professor said that half the exam is multiple-choice, so I should ace it."

"Just like you were the ace of Karasuno?"

Asahi smiled at the memory. "I guess so."

They continued eating in silence. It was comfortable, but Asahi couldn't help but notice something off about Noya's mood. He seemed to be angry and confused behind the mask of content. But Asahi didn't press. As if on cue, Yuuji entered the apartment with a blank stare and examined the scene.

"KD? I swear, if I weren't around, you'd be eating only this."

"I know how to cook!" Asahi defended himself. "I was just too tired to really make anything."

He watched Yuuji, who stayed silent before opening his mouth. It was quiet, but Asahi heard a faint "out" in the mumbling. The bearded man placed his bowl and fork down to follow his boyfriend outside. Yuuji sniffled as he opened the door to the outside and sat on the cement block to the building's stairs. Asahi sat upright against him, wrapping an arm around his silent figure.

"What is going on, Yuuji?"

He took in a deep breath, lip trembling. "I feel so bad about this. I don't know how to say it in a way that you won't hate me."

"Hey, don't cry," Asahi put a hand on his boyfriend's back. "Whatever you're thinking about, it can't be that bad, right?"

Yuuji sniffled and looked up. "No matter how much you say that I know you'll hate me for this."

"I could never hate you."

"Well, it's about Nishinoya..."

_Is this about what I saw earlier? Their heated, challenging glares?_

Asahi rubbed Yuuji's back. "Could you tell me what happened when we were at his place? It seemed pretty intense, and I think I heard a bit of your conversation."

This caused Yuuji to jump. "Well, I saw this picture he had packed of you two from when you were still together. He said he hoped to find you again and possibly get back together with you. I know he said he's not going to try to get with you, but obviously, I'm going to feel hostile! Now every time you two talk, my mind can't help but think that he's flirting with you and that you're getting too friendly."

 _What? He really sees it like this, huh_. "Hey, I'd never up and leave you for someone I just reunited with. Besides, I don't feel any attraction towards Nishinoya like I do to you. My days of loving him are long over. It's natural you'd feel like this, but just know that it's not true. I love  _you_ , alright?"

Yuuji nodded and leaned into Asahi. "There's more, though."

"I can tell. Just say it."

It took a minute before Yuuji could speak.  _Oh no, did he think that I know what he's going to say?_

"Another thing about Nishinoya..."

"If you don't want him to live with us it's alright. I know you just met him, and your feud with him. Nothing's been finalized, and won't be for a while, so we can still kick him out if-"

"Shut up!"

Asahi automatically went silent. He couldn't tell if it was out of his obedient nature or a sense of fear that brought deja vu with it. With a nod, he signalled Yuuji to continue.

"I think... I think I'm starting to fall in love with him as well."

 _I was not expecting that at all._ Then shock settled in. "Wait, you're not leaving me, are you?"

"No. I'm just stating that even though I'm madly in love with you, I think I'm falling for Nishinoya on top of all this."

It took Asahi a few moments to process this.  _He loves me, but someone else too. He's definitely leaving me. And for who? My ex and the person he currently doesn't want around?_ Asahi knew of the phenomenon where more than two people were together in a loving, open relationship, but he couldn't see himself, Noya, or Yuuji in something like that. "Maybe it's just the overwhelming presence of someone else living with us? Your brain knows our place is love, and now someone else is with us, so maybe your mind is confusing Nishinoya as another partner?"

"Asahi, I know my emotions. Don't make me feel even worse about this, okay? We'll just wait a bit before acting on anything to really make sure this is real."

That's when Asahi broke. It started with a small tear rolling down his cheek, then once he wiped it off, many more flowed down. Yuuji snapped his head around and cradled the large face in his hands. "I'm so sorry for making you feel this way. Better to speak about everything than to keep secrets from each other, right?"

Asahi nodded. "I know, I know. Thank you..." He pulled Yuuji onto his lap and into a tight hug. He felt the chest against him huff, then his neck felt damp. "Oh Yuuji, I love you so much."

* * *

With macaroni forgotten, the couple and new roommate all sat at the small table. They had to drag the small stool from the studio over to the kitchen, as the couple only had two actual chairs. Noya swallowed his bite and set his bowl aside. "If you two are going to kick me out already, I understand."

Asahi's eyes felt heavy. He just wanted to lay down, maybe cuddling with Yuuji, and sleep. But he also knew he'd sleep easier with this conversation out of the way right now. "We're not kicking you out. It's actually something completely different, what Yuuji wants to say to you."

Yuuji gave him a pleading look.  _I'm sorry to make you do this, but they're your feelings_. Asahi just grabbed his hand for comfort. Then Yuuji sighed and looked back to Noya. "I'm sorry for challenging you earlier. It was stupid of me to not believe you then act all childish about it."

Noya's eyes darted between the two. "I forgive you. I'm also sorry for ever making you believe all that. Still want to be friends?" He added, reaching a hand out to the panting blond. Yuuji gave a half-smile and shook it, nodding, before pulling away.

"There's an extra bit to this all, and I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable..."

Asahi noticed Noya's expression change. Before he looked defensive, and now he was vulnerable again. "I can take it, I think." He heard Noya whisper.

"I might be falling in love with you."

The ex-libero's expression stayed the same. "No, you're not. It's just the shock of me suddenly living wit-"

"Stop telling me what my emotions are!" Yuuji exploded. "I feel guilty and greedy, all while amazing at once. I'm sorry if it makes you guys uncomfortable, but that's how I feel. Maybe I  _do_ need to take some time to really see if this is what it is, but that's how I feel. I think I'm in love with you both."

"And you're alright with him feeling this, Azu?"

Asahi crossed his arms. "I'm his boyfriend, I don't control him, and I never will. It's just new to be in this situation."

Noya nodded, crossing his own. "Well, Terushima, I think we should wait a bit before acting. I'm stressed as well! Suddenly moving in with someone I just reconnected with and now their partner is falling in love with me? You know how stressful this all is?"

Yuuji calmed down. "I understand. I also need a shower," Before Asahi could even think of offering to join, he was stopped. "Not tonight, babe. I'm not in the mood anymore, sorry."

"It's perfectly alright."

* * *

Asahi laid awake, still waiting for Yuuji to join him. He hoped to relieve the stress of the day with a long sleep before exams.  _Oh, I completely forgot to study. Too late now, shit._ Then the bed sank beside him and a familiar warm arm reached across his chest.

"Ready for your exam?"

"Don't talk about it. Just sleep."

"Alright," he turned and cradled the smaller man with his whole body. This would all be over in a week. Just a few more days and they'd all be able to relax.

Yuuji nuzzled into Asahi's chest and placed sleepy kisses to it until he drifted unconscious. Asahi smiled to himself and somehow fell asleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SOBBING (mainly because of that text convo I mentioned at the start but this chapter was sad).  
> Still blows my mind how all this is happening on the same day but that's pacing for you. Is it good pacing? Maybe not, but it matches to mood so maybe it is good? Next chapter will take place NOT on the day we've been stuck on forever.


	9. Kiss Me Before Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week has now passed since Yuuji's declaration. Exams are over and Noya is now officially recognized as a resident. It is also time for the boys to sit back down and talk everything over...
> 
> .
> 
> As if on cue, Yuuji came out of the bathroom. He noticed Noya's look of confusion on his face. "Hey," he said, walking over and sitting down beside him.
> 
> "Hey," Noya shifted to face the blond directly. "I've thought everything over, and I know what to do."
> 
> "What will you do?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The more I write, the more ideas I have for this story and it's getting longer and longer. Be prepared for at least 5 more chapters of this mess.  
> Anyways I'm catching up on Carole and Tuesday and I just love their song Kiss Me, so little bits of the start are based on it.

Noya looked at the clock again.  _6:30, five minutes later than when I last checked_. The three hadn't done much together that past week since Asahi and Yuuji were either doing exams or working. Noya still didn't have a job, despite applying for at least ten different places. He knew it was unreasonable to expect a call back from any of them so soon, but boredom was slowly driving him mad. Now that school was over, Asahi would be working more as well, leaving the small man alone even more. Whenever he was alone he would think about Yuuji's declaration, and how he could feel something small inside him for the man.  _But even if we were together, it would be awkward with Azu around._

As if on cue, Yuuji came out of the bathroom. He noticed Noya's look of confusion on his face. "Hey," he said, walking over and sitting down beside him.

"Hey," Noya shifted to face the blond directly. "I've thought everything over, and I know what to do."

"What will you do?"

 _What_ will _I do?_

_Oh, right._

"I like you back, Terushima."

Yuuji stared at him. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am! I wouldn't say it if it weren't true, you know."

The blond turned a slight shade of pink. "So, do you think we could be together? Even though I'm also with Asahi, would it be okay?"

Noya sighed.  _Oh yeah, we should probably get his verbal permission_. "If Azu says it's okay, then I'm alright being with you."

Yuuji smiled and shifted closer so that their knees were touching. "Want to wait for him together? He gets off at around eight, so it'll be a while."

"Are you proposing that we cuddle?" Noya asked hopefully. The last time he had cuddled someone was about a week before his breakup with Asahi.  _I could use some cuddles._

The taller pushed away and shoved himself into the corner of the couch, putting his legs out. "Come sit between my legs, babydoll."

 _Oh._ He felt a spark in his chest.  _I could get used to this_. He smiled and pushed his back to Yuuji's chest, sinking into the warmth. "It's been so long since I've last cuddled someone."

"Really?" Yuuji asked, reaching for the TV remote. "How long has it been?"

"Just over a year, at the end of my second year of high school."

Yuuji stayed silent for a second. "That was when you were with Asahi."

"Yeah."

After that, they didn't talk much, only speaking to find something to watch until Asahi would return home. They settled on  _Carole & Tuesday_. As they watched, Yuuji wrapped his arms around Noya's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. Normally, Noya would have pushed him away for mocking his height, but he was too frozen to do anything about it.

 _His touch just feels so pure and loving_. He remembered how Asahi used to hold him for a split second before throwing the thought away.  _No. I'm past that point in my life._ Noya leaned back even more, chucking to himself at the lyrics of  _Kiss Me_. 

 _It's been so long since I've kissed someone that I've forgotten what it feels like_.

It seemed like Yuuji also found the lyrics ironic to their situation. "Hey," he whispered into Noya's ear. "Can I call you by your first name?"

"If I can call you by yours."

Noya's heart melted as Yuuji laughed. "Sure thing, Yuu!"

"Got it, Yuuji." The name felt weird to say as it was close to his own, but he admitted it was a cute name.

The opening ended and the show began. They watched in silence for about five minutes, until Yuuji started to feel restless. Noya could feel him shifting around beneath him, so he turned his head to face him.

"Do you need the bathroom? I can get up-"

Yuuji stared at the ground, and Noya noticed a slight pinkness to his face. "N-no, I'm good."

"Why are you blushing?"

No response.

"Hun, you gotta be honest with me."

He blushed a tinge deeper at the pet name. "I want to kiss you."

 _So soon?_ "Are you saying that because of the song?"

Yuuji shifted. "No, I just want to kiss you. You're so cute and kind and probably all stiff from sleeping on the couch for the past week, but damnit, I want to kiss you!"

It was Noya's turn to be flustered. "Don't you want to wait for Azu to get back and see if he's okay with us?"

The blond sighed and rolled his head back. "Live on the edge for once, Yuu!"

"I also like to live safely, thank you!"

They sat still, not speaking. Then Noya did.

"Okay, just  _one_ kiss if you want to be so persistent," he gave in, wanting to know the feeling of a kiss once more. It had been so long, and he was too touch starved and craving for affection to care if the giant samurai came back. He stood up and faced Yuuji, sitting back down and straddling the blond's lap. "Well, here I am."

Yuuji smiled softly and grabbed Noya's waist with one hand and brushed the other over his face. "You look so amazing from this angle. I think I love you even more now."

Noya pressed his forehead to Yuuji's with a newfound hunger burning up his insides. " _Shut up and kiss me._ "

Before Yuuji could protest, Noya grasped his face in his hands and smashed their lips together. It felt desperate, but soon they relaxed into each other's touch. Yuuji moved his other hand to Noya's waist and flicked his tongue out carefully.  _Oh?_ Noya took it as a challenge and returned the gesture, dipping his tongue between his lips. The other gasped and bit Noya's lip.

They were plummeting into more than just a kiss, but Noya could tell that Yuuji also got off to the thrill and danger of their actions. Anime now forgotten, all they could think of were each other. The shorter subconsciously rolled his hips, remembering the actions he went through with Asahi in the past. But instead of returning the action, he felt Yuuji stiffen and pull back.

"What was that for?"

Noya stuttered before calming down. "I used to do that with Azu. It was on instinct, but I thought you'd like it."

The blond licked his lips. "It was hot, but maybe not now."

"Okay."

Having ruined the moment, Noya sighed and repositioned himself to watch the show, which was now almost halfway through the episode. They just cuddled and watched the episode, only moving to use the remote to select the next one. By the time the third episode was over, Yuuji turned the TV off, letting Noya know the Asahi would be home soon.

"We should prank him!" he burst out.

Yuuji's eyes opened wide. "Why?"

Noya shrugged. "Why not? Come on, it'll be funny."

"What do you have in mind?" Doubt turned to excitement.

The shorter leaned in close to his soon-to-be boyfriend's ear. He told every detail of his plan, which caused Yuuji to laugh. "Yeah, we'll get him good with this one!"

Smirking, Noya straddled the blond once more and laughed with him.

* * *

Yawning, Asahi made the short walk home. There were a lot of people coming into the gallery lately.  _The art show. Not many of those people will become regulars. Maybe one at the most. Just another week and we'll be back to normal._ Soon enough he reached the peeling painted door that led up to the apartment. He opened the door and climbed the stairs.

"Ah!"

Asahi froze.  _Yuuji? Is he hurt?_ He sprinted the rest of the way up and burst through the door. "Yuuji!"

Then he saw it.

Noya was on his back, hands gripping the armrest behind him. Yuuji held himself over the shorter man, their hips and below covered by a blanket from their bed. They were both shirtless and panting hard. Then Noya looked up, a dazed expression on his face, to see Asahi.

He jumped. "You're back!"

His brain couldn't register what was happening.  _Have they been doing this every time I'm out? Why haven't they told me?_ Though his mind was caught up in despair, a part of him found the situation hot.

Yuuji sank down. "Asahi, I didn't expect you back so soon. I was hoping we could have finished up our third round at least."

 _Third round?_ Yep, they had been at it a while. Asahi dropped his bag on the ground.  _So, they must have been doing this when I've been out. No way Nishinoya would be able to do three rounds if this were his first time unless he already-_

"Azu?" Noya's voice pulled him out of his mind.

Asahi looked at them again. "So, how long have you been together without me knowing?"

Yuuji got off the couch and stood in front of him. Though he was shirtless, his pants were still on. "We just tried to prank you, babe, I'm sorry."

"I thought you two had been together for a while, based on what you said."

It was Noya's turn to get up and stand with them. "Azu, don't cry."

He noticed the tear that was forming and wiped it away. "I didn't know I was."

"You never do," Yuuji said, kissing his cheek. "It was just a silly prank we thought of, alright? We aren't together."

"But-"

The shortest of the three interrupted him. "Actually, Yuuji and I talked things over. If it's alright with you, we want to be together."

What Noya said made his thoughts go back in order. "You'll have to be careful when you go out. Everyone knows that Yuuji's with  _me_ , and most of them aren't the brightest when it comes to new things being introduced to them."

Yuuji nodded. "We will be. But so what if they're too stupid to understand how we work? We're not bothering them!"

The tallest smiled at him."Things like what you said are why I love you so much." he heard Noya agree as he hugged the pierced rebel.

He felt Yuuji hug back and Noya join them. There will definitely be more misunderstandings as time goes on, but Asahi knew from the way these two comforted him that they'd all make it through. But after what felt like way too soon, they both pulled away.

"It's getting late," Yuuji pointed out. "Bed?"

"It's only eight-fifteen, you know."

Yuuji groaned. "But I've been awake for too long!"

Noya laughed. "Yeah, I have a job interview for the game shop below us, so I should probably get to sleep soon."

Asahi patted him on the head. "Go have a shower."

With that, Noya grabbed his towel and a pair of pyjamas out of his rolly drawers and went into the bathroom. Asahi grabbed Yuuji's hand and lead him to the couch, sitting each other down. "So, who thought of that prank?"

"Yuu did."

"You're on first-name basis already?"

Yuuji shrugged. "Why not?"

Asahi nodded. "It would have been a funny one if I hadn't reacted like that."

"No, we should have known you get worked up easily."

 _Here goes. Be brave!_ "I want you to make it up to me."

His partner tilted his head. "I can go down to the store tomorrow and grab you a Pop figure if that's what you're meaning."

The taller chuckled and leaned into Yuuji's ear. "Get in the bed and you'll see."

* * *

Noya sighed and stepped out of the shower, shaking his legs off in turn. He always took quick showers, not liking to use up a lot of water. Maybe it was just him, or maybe it was the 100 corporations guilt-tripping him into thinking that showers longer than 10 minutes were the number one killer of the planet, he never would know. He grabbed his towel and quickly dried off, tying it around his waist and heading out to his curtained area. The giant curtain blocked off a chunk of the living area just big enough for him to have his futon, rolly drawers, and a few posters. He felt bad for taking up what used to be the other couple's workout/studio area, but they told him not to worry about it, so he put it to the back of his mind.

Pyjamas in hand, Noya closed the curtain behind him and changed into them; the Dragon Ball t-shirt and sports shorts were perfect for the warm nights. He then reached to put the futon into bed form, but the clip wouldn't budge.

 _Shit, it's stuck tightly! I'm not strong enough to dislodge it on my own_. Noya gave it a big tug, but it didn't budge. He didn't want to disturb them if they were sleeping, but he needed Asahi to help him. So he reluctantly stood up and went over to the couple's room.

No sound came, so he opened the door gently.  _I'll wake Azu and hope that Yuuji will stay asleep_. But the couple wasn't sleeping - in fact, they were far from it.

Yuuji laid on his back, holding his legs above his head. Asahi crouched over him, one hand supporting him and the other in the blond's hair. He was rocking his hips violently into Yuuji's slender figure.

"Oh," Noya whispered out loud. "I don't think  _this_ was meant to be a prank, was it?"

Asahi yelled and grabbed his shirt - which was sprawled out beside them - and chucked it at Noya's face. Startled, Noya looked away and batted at it. This bought the two the time to get under the blankets.

"I'm sorry!" Noya exclaimed. "I just meant to get your help with putting my futon out, I didn't mean to walk in on you guys like this!"

He cautiously looked back at the two, who were now (thankfully) covered. Though he hadn't seen anything he wasn't supposed to, he felt horrible for ruining their moment.  _I definitely should have knocked._

"Have you pulled on the clip?" Asahi asked.

"Obviously, or else I wouldn't be here!"

Yuuji spoke up. "Are you sure it was the right clip? Not the one that holds the frame?"

 _Shit._ Without a word, Noya left.  _How could I be so stupid? I guess I'm just super nervous for tomorrow._

Trying to erase the image from his head, Noya fixed his futon and tried to fall asleep, only to be welcomed to a strange dream.

_Asahi made eye contact with Noya, his hips still moving. "So, you finally join us."_

_"Shut up, the traffic was bad today."_

_Yuuji looked up. "Yuu! Come on, we had to start without you. Well,_ Asahi _had to start without you."_

 _The brunett whined. "But the last time we all had sex together was_ ages _ago. You can't blame me."_

_Noya rolled his eyes and threw his shirt off. "Asahi, you need to stop being so lonely all the time. We love you, but we can't keep up with your desires all the time."_

_In response, Asahi pulled out and walked over to him. "Do you want a spanking?"_

_Noya moaned at the thought. Asahi hit hard, but he was always caring. He took his pants off, now just in his underwear. He pulled Asahi close for an open-mouthed kiss._

_"I expect a hard fucking from you tonight, baby."_

Noya jerked awake.  _What the hell was that? I know what I just saw, but no way do I want in on it!_ He sighed and rolled over, reaching for his phone and checking the time.  _It's only been two hours since I fell asleep. Tonight's going to be a long one._

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was definitely a roller coaster of a chapter.  
> RIP Noya.  
> The drama will pick up next chapter with a return to the angst.  
> I didn't expect this chapter to be over 2 500 words, but it was somehow.


	10. A Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After what happened the boys are a bit awkward around each other. Soon things go back to normal. Then, the Tanakas and the rest of Nishinoya's friends visit and find out about the three's relationship. Something that Saeko says to Asahi suddenly has him questioning his feelings  
> .  
> "I'm surprised you're living with Azumane and Terushima, Noya."
> 
> "Yeah, but it works for us. It's right between our colleges and we can save money better if it's three people." Then Noya smirked and winked towards Yuuji. "Plus, Yuuji's a real fun guy. Azu's proven himself to me as well, so I guess we're friends again."
> 
> Yuuji rolled his eyes. "Could you not criticize Asahi for five minutes?"
> 
> The smallest groaned. "Fiiiinnnee, but only because you said so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so basically I forgot that times for schools ending and stuff is different for Japan than Canada. I created this on the basis of Canada, but another project I'm working on (see end notes) goes off Japan. Well shit. Sorry about that! It's also going off Canadian (specifically Alberta, Quebec, and Manitoba for plot conveniences) legal drinking age, which is 18. Drinking age is 19 for everywhere else. I'm also sorry if this chapter is really awkward and stiff. I wanted to write this really well, but my writing just didn't want to cooperate for some reason.

The next few days after Noya had walked in on Asahi and Yuuji were awkward. Noya had frantically apologized in the morning, to which the other two had told him not to worry and to they vowed to never speak of it again. By Monday they were all back to their usual selves. Noya had scored the job at the game store, which meant he could finally help with rent and officially become their roommate. But this also meant he saw his friend and boyfriend even less. So every time he and Yuuji were home at the same time they became inseparable, to Asahi's mild jealousy.

 _Yuuji's practically glued to him, and they're even all lovey-dovey in front of me!_ For a second, Asahi wondered if he was really okay with this arrangement. But every time he thought about it, he concluded that everything was alright. He just had to teach his mind to not respond negatively to the sight of the two together. Life went on as normal. Three worked, cooked, and spent time together as all roommates do. Then one day Noya burst from his room into the living room, holding his phone and yelling.

"Guys, we're not doing anything Wednesday, right?" His eyes were wide and Asahi bet if he were gripping his phone any tighter it would break.

Yuuji tiled his head into Asahi's shoulder. "Yeah. What's up?"

Noya bounced. "Can Ryu, Chikara, Saeko Nee-san, Hisashi, and Kazuhito come over?"

It was Asahi's turn to speak. "I mean, there's not much space in here to do anything, but if Yuuji's okay with it, then sure."

The blond stared at the ground. "They're your friends, so of course."

"Woo-ho!" Noya yelled and frantically began texting. "So I told Ryu about everything with us, and he said it's cool and he understands. Saeko Nee-san might be more critical, as she tends to be very observant. Hisashi might yell at me, and Kazuhito might yell at you, Asahi."

"Then why are you inviting everyone over if they all hate me for what happened?"

Noya groaned. "To show that we're all better now, Azu."

Yuuji laughed. "They won't hate him for the breakup, they'll hate him because of how unobservant he is."

The man in question pouted, which made the others laugh. Yuuji leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry babe, we're just kidding."

"I told you, I'm slow!" he whined, standing up. "I'm also going to the bathroom. Don't fuck while I'm gone."

"Can't guarantee that!" they shouted in unison, causing Asahi to laugh. _Man, I love them._

 _Wait. I love Yuuji, not Nishinoya. As a friend only._ He corrected his mind as he locked himself in the bathroom. He'd have to mentally prepare himself for this in case the kouhai and Saeko decided to attack him. The fight wasn't his whole fault - Noya was to blame as well - but he had to admit it happened because he was horrible at communicating. How Yuuji hasn't broken up with him yet was a surprise, as sometimes Asahi would shut down and refuse to speak. Yuuji understood these moments, as had Noya, but who knows why Noya freaked out as he had.

 _What matters is that we're all good now, and the fight can be brought up as little as possible._ Asahi finished his business and washed his hands, looking at himself in the mirror. His beard had once again grown over the little scar on his chin. This made him happy for two reasons: Yuuji liked his beard, and Noya wouldn't be reminded of what he did any more than he wanted to. He sighed and walked out of the room to see the two curled up on the couch together and laughing at the smaller's phone.

"Oh, Azu!" Noya turned to him. "Saeko nee-san was just sassing you out. She said you should stay away from me, but I told her I'm living with you, and she freaked!"

"That's... nice," Asahi commented, sitting on the other side of Yuuji. For the rest of the hour, they just sat there, reacting to Noya texting his friends. Then the man's phone went off, signalling that he had to get ready for work. Noya excused himself to wash up.

Yuuji leaned further into Asahi, gazing into his eyes. "You gonna be okay with all this? I know how you get sometimes when a lot of people are around."

"That's just with people I don't know. Well, you could argue I don't know them anymore, as it's been a year and they all still hate me for the breakup."

The blond exhaled. "I don't think they'll hate you anymore."

"Tanaka - the younger one - will," Asahi shivered at the memory of how angry the kouhai could get.

Noya came out of the bathroom and wandered to his room, grabbing his bag and saying goodbye, giving Yuuji a deep kiss. This made Asahi feel awkward, as he didn't know how to react. _Get used to this, Asahi. They're together as well. Man, I really am slow._

_But I can be fast when Yuuji wan-_

_Shut up._

"Dude, you okay?" it was Noya.

"Sorry, just blanked out for a second."

Noya gave him a weak smile. "Just let us know if you're uncomfortable with anything, alright? We want to make sure there's plenty of communication."

Asahi knew what he was subtly referencing to. "Uh, yeah," he just mumbled in response, watching the brunet leave. He sighed and stood up, which resulted in a whine from his boyfriend. "Sorry, I just want to lay down right now."

"Want me to join?" The purpose was innocent by his words, so Asahi nodded and dragged Yuuji along. They entered their room and laid down together; a tangle of legs and arms wrapped tightly around the other. "Want me to grab Sunny?"

Sunny was a stuffed crow Asahi had bought when he first came to the school. He bought Sunny as a comfort animal, as actual pets weren't allowed in the apartment. Asahi smiled at the thought but declined. "No, you're my comfort right now."

Yuuji's face turned red as he nuzzled into the larger's chest. "You're too cheesy, Asahi!"

The man in question smiled and glanced to the other end of the room where the three-foot stuffed animal sat. Why a college campus was just selling it, he would never know. _Maybe because we're_ Karasu _no college, but still.._. He turned back to Yuuji, deciding to address his awkwardness from earlier.

"Actually, something is bugging me, if I'm honest."

His partner went serious. "What's wrong?"

Asahi could tell his mind automatically went to the worst idea possible, so he lifted the man up for a quick kiss before continuing. "Don't worry so much, dear. I just felt weird when you and Noya kissed a minute ago."

The blond tilted his head. "What kind of weird? Like, _I don't think I can let this continue_ weird, or _oh shit, this is kind of hot_ weird?"

"No! I just didn't know what to do while you did that, that's all."

Yuuji grinned. "You're so silly, Asahi. But I don't know what to do about that. Just, get used to it. That's all I've got for you."

Asahi nodded. "Okay, I'll do that for you two."

They hugged tighter, enjoying the feel of one another. As much as Asahi felt awkward with Yuuji being with Noya at the same time, he wouldn't change how they lived for anything.

* * *

Sooner than Asahi would have liked, Wednesday arrived. They all had shifts ending early that day, to their surprises, so they had plenty of time to get ready. Yuuji left to buy drinks, which meant it was up to Asahi to convince Noya that even though he's of legal drinking age, he can't drink as much as Saeko might.

"Aw!" the small man protested. "Why not?"

"You're small and haven't drunk before, unless you have, but still don't drink a whole lot."

Noya groaned and pushed his face into Asahi's arm. "Azu, you're so mean."

"I'm just being a responsible adult and making sure nobody gets hurt tonight," Asahi replied, pushing Noya away. He watched him stumble away, flinging his curtain open and falling on his bed.

The man rolled around to face Asahi again. "What if my friends drink a lot?"

 _He's really making this difficult._ "We're not buying a whole lot. Just enough for everyone to have one beer. That's it."

Noya sighed, giving up. "Alright. I didn't want that much anyways. Just wanted to see how you'd react."

Asahi slowly walked over. "You gotta stop worrying me. You know how I am."

"Sorry." Noya waved his hand in invitation to come in, and Asahi strode into the space and sat on Noya's futon. It felt stiff compared to his bed with Yuuji.

"This feels pretty stiff," he blurted. "Sorry you have to sleep on it every night."

Noya chuckled. "The first time you come into my room, you insult it? Didn't you do that when you came to my house for the first time when we were dating?"

 _I had said your room was stuffy and that you needed to open a window_. The taller smiled and fell back, laying beside Noya now. "Yeah, I did."

They laid in silence until they heard the door open. "Yuuji's back!" Yuuji called, dropping the keys onto the counter, followed by the bag. "You two didn't get into trouble, did you?"

Noya bounced up. He ran to Yuuji and hugged him, obviously pretending to be sad. "Yuuji, Azu insulted my room!"

Yuuji played along. "Really? What did he do, babydoll?"

A pang of jealousy hit Asahi.  _Why didn't I come up with that pet name for Yuuji? Dang it._ But it didn't last long, as Noya whispered something into his boyfriend's ear. Whatever he said made Yuuji gasp and glare at Asahi.

"Asahi!" he squealed and ran over, Noya following. Asahi didn't have enough time to brace their attack.

Asahi heaved as Yuuji pounced on him, grabbing his hair and biting his shoulder. Then Noya fell on them, rolling to the side and sitting up. He began to push the two over in order to make more room, but he wasn't strong enough and couldn't dodge Asahi's flailing arm, falling off from the impact. The fall shocked Yuuji, making him stop and look over. The pinned Asahi took this as an opportunity to attack back, grabbing Yuuji's shoulders and pinning him down.

"Got you," Asahi teased, kissing his forehead. Yuuji smiled sweetly and wrapped his arms around him, bringing them back into a kiss. With his guard let down, Asahi didn't notice their smallest friend sneak up to their side and pounce, knocking the giant off Yuuji.

Noya jumped on the futon and pinned Asahi, his hands on either side of his head and straddling his hips as well as he could (Asahi was bigger than he remembered). "Got you," Noya copied with a smirk.

The brunet gasped.  _Is this how Yuuji feels when I trap him?_ No, probably not, he concluded. Yuuji tried to move, but there was almost no space, so he settled on rolling off the futon. "This thing is so small. And stiff. Now I see why Asahi was complaining."

"Really?" Noya whined, sitting up and releasing Asahi's head. "If this is so stiff, then can I feel your guys' bed?"

There was a moment of unease within Asahi as he and Yuuji exchanged a look before nodding. "Of course!" Asahi replied. "I mean, I just kinds barged into your room, so it's only fair that you can see ours."

Noya jumped off Asahi and bounded to the proper bedroom. Asahi rolled off and helped Yuuji stand up. They laughed together as they held hands over to their room. The smallest was standing in the doorway and looking around. "Your room is so cool! Look at your posters! The crow stuffie!"

Asahi scratched the back of his neck. "Sunny is also a speaker."

The wonderstruck man turned around. "Sunny? That's a cute name, Azu!"

 _Sunny is named after me, though, so he's not that special._ "Uh, thanks?"

Yuuji punched his shoulder. "Accept the compliment!"

The giant just whined and let go of Yuuji's hand, pushing past Noya and waving them in. They sat on the bed together and watched Asahi pick Sunny up. "I had to adjust to living on my own, which was lonely. Then I saw Sunny at the campus shop and I just had to buy him. I made him play relaxing music as I slept. Until Yuuji came to live with me."

"Babe, that's so sweet!" Yuuji squealed and buried his head in his hands, resulting in Noya staring at him.

"You're the one who slept with him and made him feel comfortable."

"I know, it's just so cute to hear it from his mouth."

Asahi smiled and turned Sunny around. "See the bottom? You can un-velcro it to reach the speaker. He's not that loud, even at full volume. Maybe that's why they're not selling him anymore..."

Noya fell to his back, changing the subject. "Your guys' bed is so  _big_ and  _comfortable_. I bet you could fit a whole crapton of people on it."

The blond beside him smirked. "Well, the size comes in handy when you're doing things that require a lot of movement."

His partners stared at him. "Could you stop making sex jokes for five minutes?" they called out in unison.

Yuuji laughed. "Fine!"

* * *

As the day dragged on, Asahi found himself thinking more than usual. Thinking about how Noya's friends might react to seeing him after a whole year of learning to hate him for ruining their friend. He knew things wouldn't be super harsh, but it was always difficult to predict the future. So, in secret, he drank a beer while the others watched  _Carole and Tuesday_. He felt guilty drinking before everyone else, but he was bent on doing so if he was going to survive the party.

Then a knock came at the door. Asahi panicked and chugged the rest of his drink and tossed the can under the bed as Yuuji got up to open it.

"Hello there! You must be Yuuji-chan!"  _Saeko Tanaka._

"Oi, Noya, this is your boyfriend? I didn't know you were still into the delinquent type."  _Tanaka._

"Ryunosuke, could you not bring that up?" Asahi had to peer out of the room to see who else was there. It was Ennoshita, and he was holding the baldie's hand.  _They must be together now. Good for them._

Then Noya popped in front of Asahi's view. "I know you're there, Azu. You can come out now if you want."

Tanaka jumped. "Yeah, Noya, grab that bastard and get him out here. I want to see him."

Asahi grabbed the door and slowly opened it, trying to buy as much time as possible before fully seeing the group of friends. Then he stepped out. "Hey," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

The first person to react was Kinoshita. "Hey, Azumane-san, it's been a while."

Narita nodded beside him.

Saeko snapped her head towards the group of boys. "Come on, guys! Don't act like that when you see your senpai after a year."

"Thank you, Saeko-san." Asahi quickly made his way over to where Terushima was standing and wrapped his arms around him. He rested his chin on the shorter's shoulder. "How have you guys been?"

Tensions calmed down after that. Yuuji let Asahi cling to him as everyone caught up. Asahi noted that Noya hadn't brought up their relationships, which he would have to thank him later for. That topic was one that should be avoided until after everyone became comfortable. People were sitting on the couch, at the table, and some standing. Asahi was sitting between Yuuji and Saeko on the couch, sharing a portion of the nachos Narita had brought as a gift.

"And we lost in the shittiest way possible, too," Tanaka was explaining how they had lost the nationals finals. "The ball hit the line, and after the referee and linesmen talked for a minute, they said the ball was out, meaning we lost. It was clearly in, but you guys know how Nohebi like to suck the ref's dick, so obviously he took their side."

Saeko scoffed and took another nacho. "I hate how the ref favours teams. It's nice when they're nice to you, but you can't just do that."

Asahi ran a hand through Yuuji's hair for comfort. "I'm glad I didn't have to play them. I wonder how nationals would have gone if they didn't resort to dirty tactics to win."

Noya coughed. Just from a glance, you could tell he had been drinking a lot. "Stupid snakes. I'd have decked the lot of them with Ryu if Chikara hadn't stopped us."

"Violence is not the answer."

 _Still mature as ever._ The bottle on Asahi's lap started to feel warm. He felt guilty taking one after drinking one in secret earlier. Then Narita spoke.

"I'm surprised you're living with Azumane and Terushima, Noya."

"Yeah, but it works for us. It's right between our colleges and we can save money better if it's three people." Then Noya smirked and winked towards Yuuji. "Plus, Yuuji's a real fun guy. Azu's proven himself to me as well, so I guess we're friends again."

Yuuji rolled his eyes. "Could you not criticize Asahi for five minutes?"

The smallest groaned. " _Fiiiinnnee_ , but only because you said so."

Everyone laughed at this, but Asahi couldn't help but thinking to tell Noya to stop drinking, as he clearly couldn't handle alcohol at all - just half a beer was enough to get him rilled up somehow.  _He's going to blurt out our arrangement sooner or later..._

Ennoshita stared at his friend. "Is there anything between you and Terushima? Or am I just misinterpreting some friendly flirting of yours?"

Yuuji tensed under Asahi and looked up with a questioning gaze. Asahi returned it. Time seemed to move slowly as Noya stood up and put his hand on his hips.  _Well shit._

"Yuuji's my lovely boyfriend. Even if he's also with Asahi, that doesn't mean I love him any less. Right, Yuuji?"

Asahi could tell the blond hated being put on the spot like that, but he also knew that everyone was questioning him too. He finally opened his beer and  Yuuji began to stutter.

"It-it's really not that complicated." He shifted in his seat. "You see, Asahi and I met and got together last year when college rolled around. After this past school year ended, Yuu came to live with us and eventually he and I fell in love. Yeah, it's rocky, but I'm with both Asahi and Yuu. Feel free to think what you want, but this is how it is."

The group looked at the three in silence, trying to process everything. Tanaka was the most confused. "Asahi-san's a cuckold?"

"Ryu!" They all shouted at him.

 _Ah, is that how this really is?_ Asahi released his hold on Yuuji and sat up, drinking a little more. The blonds on either side of him noticed and shared a look. "Asahi," Saeko began. "That's not what you are."

 _It's hard to believe sometimes_. "I know."

He hugged his bottle. Narita shrugged. "So, you're in a polyamorous relationship? That's new, Noya."

"I did tell you that things have changed a lot somehow in the last month!"

Kinoshita swallowed his bite. "It's only been a month since we saw you but it feels like years. Of course, it has been a year since we saw Azumane."

They nodded. Yuuji leaned against Asahi and wrapped an arm around him. "Asahi," he whispered. "Saeko wants to talk to you alone outside."

The giant nodded and stood up, Saeko following. She turned to her brother. "We'll be back in a minute."

The two left the apartment and went outside, sitting on the doorstep. Saeko placed a hand on his shoulder and sighed. "So, Asahi, how are you feeling?"

In response, he took another swig. "I mean, I drank before the party, so how do you think?"

"I know you're anxious about a lot of people, but I meant about your relationship. Ryu's comment got you."

"Of course it did. Now I'm just thinking that Yuuji's going to leave me for Nishinoya, and that Yuuji doesn't love me, an-"

Saeko took the bottle out of his hands. "Breathe."

Asahi took a deep breath, shaking uncontrollably. "I know he loves me, but anything can happen, and that scares me. We've never done something like this before, so of course I'm reacting like this."

"Everything is alright." she ran a hand through his hair and pushed it out of his eyes. "Say, while we're on the topic, how do you feel about Yuu-chan?"

 _That's unexpected_. "What do you mean? He's a good guy, but I'm still getting used to being around him after all this time, and our nasty breakup..."

She sighed. "Do you think of him as just a friend or is there anything else?"

_Oh._

_I can't tell if I just want to be friends or be with him again. I always thought these feelings were old ones just brought back by the overwhelming presence of being near him all day. Damn, this alcohol is getting to me already?_

"You don't need to answer if you don't feel comfortable talking about it, but you'd better tell Teru-kun and Yuu-chan, alright?"

He didn't respond, but grabbed his bottle back, chugged the rest, and coughed. Then he felt Saeko's arms around him. Soon his face felt wet, and he realized he was crying. Instead of stopping himself and apologizing, he welcomed the feeling to him and buried his head in her shoulder.

Saeko was surprised by the sudden action but decided it was best to stay quiet. Asahi needed to let his emotions out to someone other than his roommates, and Saeko had to be the shoulder he cries on.

* * *

Once they returned inside, they all agreed that it would be best to end the party early due to Asahi's state. He argued that they should keep going without him, but Noya refused to let that happen. As the group left, Saeko reminded the giant to speak his mind and gave him her cell phone number. When Yuuji saw their vehicles turn out of the parking lot and go down the road, he gathered Asahi and Noya with him on the couch.

"There's not much of a mess. Just a few paper plates to throw out and a few bottles to collect and clean out," he commented, referring to the unfinished drinks and food.

Asahi shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry that my emotions ruined tonight. You were looking forward to this, Nishinoya, and my drunk ass just had to blurt everything out to Saeko and cry. How pathetic."

Yuuji covered his mouth and spoke sternly. "Listen up! We didn't want to keep partying without you, alright? You're important to us and never a let-down. Whatever you and Saeko spoke about was important and valuable enough to stop everything for you. You're our friend and my boyfriend, and we're not going to let you feel horrible on your own."

"I should have known that a whole lot of people around so suddenly was a bad idea, so I'm sorry, Azu." Noya apologized.

The blond released his grip on Asahi so he could speak. "That was just drunk me overreacting to a silly comment."

"You're still drunk, though."

"I know," Asahi pointed out. "Besides, I'm tired."

Noya got up, making room for Asahi to move. "We'll let you go to bed then. Make sure you cuddle Sunny for me!"

Asahi smiled genuinely for the first time that night. "I will," then added. "Are you joining me, Yuuji?"

"In just a little bit, alright?"

Though he felt disappointed, he knew the two wanted some alone time together. "Alright. Goodnight."

So Asahi went and got ready for bed. Once he had laid down with Sunny, Yuuji joined him. "What's Sunny singing tonight?"

"Mr. Brightside piano cover. Maybe a few other soothing songs after, I don't know."

Yuuji laughed as he took his shirt off. "Mr. Brightside, seriously? You know I love you and would never go against your back."

"Shut up, it's a great song."

Yuuji slipped under the covers and kissed him. "I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently working on a prequel to this fic, which will be called "Tour". It will focus on Asahi and Yuuji and how they met/got together. I'm looking forward to it! Thank you for reading this mess, and I'll see you next chapter!


	11. My Small World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just an ordinary day for the roommates - except everything goes wrong.  
> .
> 
> "How about we sleep together tonight?"
> 
> Noya gasped. He'd been waiting for Yuuji to suggest it, and almost prompted the blond himself. "But what about Azu?" he burst out before thinking. Yuuji placed a long finger over his lips.
> 
> "I've slept with him every night for a whole year, and I want to be with you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to disappoint but this chapter isn't 4k like the last one lol (it's 3k, somehow). Also, the POV changes a lot this chapter. Just saying in case it gets confusing there.  
> 

Noya frowned. He was stuck in the back of Asahi's car yet again, this time travelling to the grocery store. This was the usual positioning for their trips together: Asahi driving, Yuuji in the passenger seat, and Noya in the back. He didn't blame Asahi for wanting to sit with his boyfriend, but Noya wanted some time in the back with Yuuji (they were also together, after all). Being in the back also meant being stuck with the groceries, as the small trunk didn't fit much - it had been a struggle to fit the few moving boxes in it.

"We're here!" Yuuji announced, unbuckling as soon as the car stopped. Asahi smiled and followed suit, as did Noya. They all walked into the quiet store, humming along to the radio.

"What's first on the list?" Noya asked, picking up a small shopping basket. "I'll be the runner for the stuff at the back."

Yuuji groaned. "But it's my turn to be the runner."

Noya handed him the basket. "Right, sorry."

The blond smiled at him. "You're alright!" Noya could tell that he wanted to kiss him badly, but couldn't. Everyone working here knew that Asahi and Yuuji were together, and would pick on them and harass them if Yuuji showed Noya any affection.

 _It sucks. Why can't people just be accepting? Some people are, but for them, there's an equal amount who aren't!_ He watched as Yuuji walked away with his copy of the list. Asahi put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's grab all the vegetables and stuff."

"Ew."

The giant pulled out a shopping cart from their area. "I feel you, man. But we gotta eat them. Hey, how about I make a stir fry?"

Noya's heart lifted. "That would be amazing!" He followed Asahi to the fresh produce, trying to buy the cheapest version of each. After arguing over how long the bagged apples would last compared to the loose ones, they headed over to the dairy section.

"Yuuji likes almond milk, soy for me, and regular for you, right?" Asahi asked.

The smaller nodded and grabbed two cartons of each. They easily filled the smaller, divided section of the cart.  _You know this is therapeutic, in a way._ But the feeling was interrupted by a yell from down the aisle.

"Noya-san!"

"Shouyou!" Noya automatically yelled back, to Asahi's dismay. Ignoring his requests to calm down, Hinata ran over and hugged him.

"It's great to see you guys here! That's a lot of milk," he added, nodding to the full divider.

Asahi scratched the back of his neck. "Well, we need it to get through the week."

Hinata smiled. "I can't judge you, as Kageyama wants me to grab him a specific brand," then he went quiet.

"Shouyou? What's wrong?"

The ginger shook his head. "I know I shouldn't be asking this, but are you two back together?"

_Ah._

Noya didn't have to think about responding before Asahi let out his wail of despair. "Well, you see - uh - Nishinoya and I are roommates now. It's a long story."

"No, we're not together. Not at all," Noya clarified to Asahi's mumblings.

Hinata gasped and quickly bowed. "I'm so sorry for assuming things!"

Asahi panicked and stuttered who knows what in response. Noya just stared at the two in awe.  _Huh. I never thought I'd see a scene like this again_. Then a hand grabbed his shoulder and he turned around to see that Yuuji had returned.

"What's taking you guys so long?" he asked before seeing the panicked men in front of him. "Oh."

Then the two managed to calm down. Hinata noticed Yuuji, eyes lighting up. "Woah, you're Terushima from Johzenji!"

"You remember that? Damn kid, I'm not that special, you know.  _You_ are someone to be remembered."

The ginger blushed and looked away. "I have to be going, sorry. It's been great to see you guys!"

The three waved goodbye to the bundle of joy as he skipped down the aisle, still looking for Kageyama's special milk. Yuuji smiled and put all the things from his basket into the cart. "So, what was that all about?"

Asahi and Noya shared a look before Asahi spoke. "Well, that was Hinata, our former kouhai from school. Next year he's not going to be captain, to his dismay. Anyways, he mistook Nishinoya and I for a couple."

Yuuji giggled. "I mean, you guys dated in high school, so of course he'd still think you two were together."

A pang of guilt hit Noya's heart. "I made it extremely obvious that he and I were through..."

The giant nodded, remembering something. "Yacchan told me."

Noya looked away. "Sorry."

"You're okay now."

A heavy aura filled the air between them as Noya took a step back and grabbed the cart. Yuuji tilted his head and frowned. "Come on, guys. That was in the past. You're cool now, so don't worry about it!"

Asahi hugged the blond. "But it was such a big thing. We need to remember it to not repeat it, you know?"

The rest of the trip was completed and the three returned home. Upon Noya's request, Yuuji sat with him while the groceries gave Asahi some lonesome company in the front. When they had put everything away, Yuuji pulled Noya aside into the later's room. Surprise hit Noya as his boyfriend laid down and invited him over. Noya did as he was asked and was welcomed into warm, strong arms.

"How about we sleep together tonight?"

Noya gasped. He'd been waiting for Yuuji to suggest it, and almost prompted the blond himself. "But what about Azu?" he burst out before thinking. Yuuji placed a long finger over his lips.

"I've slept with him every night for a whole year, and I want to be with you!"

His heart fluttered. "Alright. I'm looking forward to it, it's been lonely without you."  _As much as it's weird to admit it._

Yuuji squeezed him close and kissed his forehead. "Why didn't you  _tell_ me?" His voice sounded like a whine, but Noya knew it had good intentions. Noya nestled his face in the crook of his neck and breathed him in, deciding to not respond.

They laid closely for a minute. Noya could swear that their heartbeats had begun to synchronize. It was the purest feeling he'd felt in a long time. But their moment was ruined when Asahi had gently pushed the curtains open and entered, green pepper in his hand. The sight caused Yuuji to laugh before the brunet could say anything.

"Green or red pepper in the curry tonight?"

"Red!" the two shouted at the same time, to which Asahi flinched.

"Don't shout, the neighbours will be mad."

Yuuji rolled his eyes. "I mean, we've had sex  _how_ many times and they haven't complained about your screaming?"

Asahi got flustered and looked away. "Shut it," and he disappeared. Well, he really didn't, as the cuddling couple could still see him from across the apartment. Noya hooked a leg around Yuuji's waist to grab his attention.

"Wanna kiss," he whined and pressed his lips to the other's jawline. Yuuji giggled and ran a hand through the smaller's hair.

"Are you jealous?"

Noya pouted. "So what if I am?"

The blond gave in and pressed their lips together. Noya whined and leaned into the kiss, trying to touch his boyfriend as much as possible.  _I love this. I love him. Goodness, this is a lot_. His heart jumped when Yuuji wrapped an arm around him to grab at his lower back to pull their hips flush. The shorter took this as an invitation to buck his hips up, causing Yuuji to squeeze him. Noya licked Yuuji's bottom lip in experimentation, to which the later pulled away.

"If we're going to go further, we better close the curtain."

Noya remembered how Asahi reacted to their prank and thought about how worse it could be if they were doing it for real. "No. I mean, we're not doing anything like that right now."

Yuuji blinked slowly and rubbed Noya's back. "Still thinking about how Asahi would react?"

 _Well, we haven't been together that long._ "No," he finally spoke. "I'm just... I don't want to rush things. We're probably both ready, but don't you think it's too soon?"

The pierced man stared in amazement. "Those are some bold words. You know, if we knew each other in high school and got together, this would be very different."

Noya shrugged. "I've had a lot of time to think about how I've acted in the past when I've tried to rush things."

Yuuji smiled and hugged him. "Man," he gawked. "You're so cool!"

"Hey," they heard Asahi yell. "Stop making out and help make dinner!"

The blond smiled and sat up to yell back. "Come on, Asahi. You just ruined our moment."

Noya rolled over so he could see Asahi. He was holding a knife in one hand and a half-cut red pepper in the other. "Well, I'm the only one cooking so say goodbye to my famous curry."

"It's so famous because it's the only thing you can cook!"

"Says the one who could only make packaged ramen a few months ago."

Yuuji huffed dramatically, sitting up completely. "Well, then I'll just eat Yuu if you're not feeding me."

Noya jumped up. "Hey, I didn't agree to anything here!"

Asahi got all flustered. Noya guessed he was imagining Yuuji doing just what he suggested. "Y-yeah, Nishinoya didn't agree to you eating him!"

In obvious fakeness, Yuuji placed a hand over his heart and flopped backwards. "You guys have killed me with your meanness."

"Azu, we make a great team!" Noya said through a huge smile. Asahi laughed and went back to chopping the pepper.

_Man, I'm really looking forward to tonight._

* * *

"So," Yuuji stood at the base of Noya's futon/couch/bed with his hands on his hips. Noya was already curled up on it, eyes tiring in the darkness. He reached for the small lamp on the floor and turned it on. Then Yuuji continued. "Do you want me to wear my pyjamas or go naked?"

Noya blushed at the thought that formed in his head. "Maybe just wear the bottoms. You can be shirtless, but if anything else is off, I might die."

The blond nodded and ripped his shirt off. Because of the low light in the space, Noya couldn't see his muscles too well, but he preferred it that way. His imagination would have gotten ahead of himself otherwise. Yuuji patted him on the head as he left to change. The blond pushed past the curtain and carefully stepped across the living room. One of them had dropped a butter knife and they hadn't been able to find it. Yuuji didn't want to find it like this.

Asahi was still awake, standing with nothing on at the mirror on their dresser. He jumped and threw a hairbrush at Yuuji when he opened the door. "Ah!" He shouted.

Yuuji knocked the brush down. "Yo, what gives?"

A sigh was the only response the giant gave. "It's just you, sorry. I'm still on edge after Nishinoya walked in on us."

"Understandable," Yuuji said, picking the brush up and walking to stand with Asahi. "I'm wearing my pyjamas tonight. He doesn't want me naked, to my dismay."

"You rarely sleep naked when you're with me. What makes you think he'd want you naked the first time you're spending the night together?"

Asahi smiled to himself as Yuuji opened the drawer and fished for the fuzzy bottoms. "He got flustered when I brought up the suggestion. You should have seen him!"

The memory of Noya's flustered face came to Asahi as he put his boxers on. "I know," then he rubbed Yuuji's back as the later reluctantly pulled the pyjamas on. "You two have fun, alright? Not  _too_ much fun, but-"

The blond cackled. "We're not going to have sex, silly!"

"Just making sure." Then Asahi looked away and grabbed Sunny and tossed him on their bed. When Yuuji didn't give a witty response, Asahi looked back. He was met with a concerned Yuuji.

"If Yuu and I did, would you be okay with it?"

 _I don't know how to answer that question right now._ His boyfriend could read his face and automatically knew what he was thinking. A pained look flashed in his golden eyes before disappearing just as quickly. "I'm not rushing you to, just please let me know what you're okay with happening."

With that grim note, Yuuji kissed his jaw and left, closing the door quietly. Asahi regretted not saying anything. Truth is, he does have boundaries. He just can't tell if he's not comfortable with Yuuji and Noya doing those kinds of things, or if he wanted all three of them to do them together. He sighed and choked back some tears as he slipped under the thin covers. Sunny wasn't going to sing tonight, he was just going to be with Asahi for comfort. As long as he's been living away from home, he's never slept without Sunny or Yuuji, afraid of nightmares as a little kid would be.

Asahi feared that tonight he might have a nightmare. He contemplated putting some music on, but he was too tired to stay awake or care. Sleep enveloped him in its trance.

He dreamt about smoke filling a room and figures running around him. They seemed to be reaching out to him, wanting to be close. But every time one neared, he would swat their hand away. Then all but one ran out of the room, and the remaining one revealed itself as Yuuji. The shock caused Asahi to wake up against his will.

 _What the hell was that?_ Asahi let out a small sob at the realization that he was awake. Then a knock came from the door.

"Asahi, it's just me."

He turned to face the door as it opened. "Why are you up?" Asahi asked Yuuji, who didn't stop to answer.

Yuuji whipped the dresser open and found a shirt (it was one of Asahi's smaller ones that he always mistook for his own) and threw it on. "Family emergency. Need to take your car to drive mom to the hospital."

Asahi sprung out of bed. "Is she alright? Well, obviously not, but what happened?"

"Nothing too serious. She got food poisoning as far as my dad can tell. Their car is in the shop, which is why they need me."

"My keys are where they usually are."

The blond nodded and opened the small box on top of the dresser and pulled out the keychain. "Thank you, babe. I should be back in the morning."

That reminded Asahi: "What time is it, anyways?"

Yuuji scratched his chin. "It's midnight. I haven't slept, and neither has Yuu."

"Too excited for your first night together?"

"Yeah."

Then Yuuji kissed Asahi's cheek and left. Asahi sighed and climbed back into bed, squeezing Sunny close again.  _Maybe I should put some music on._ Before he could reach to the nightstand and grab his phone, another knock rang through the air. Asahi groaned. "Yuuji, I told you that if the car won't start, you just gotta-"

"It's Nishinoya, I'm coming in." Noya invited himself in. "Yuuji told me you were clothed enough for me to come in."

The giant shuffled in the covers. "What's clothed enough for him might not be clothed enough for someone else, you know."

Noya giggled and sat on the bed. "Yeah, he's like that."

Curiosity replaced Asahi's drowsiness. "Why are you here?"

"Well," he didn't answer. Asahi wanted to place a hand on the smaller's shoulder, but he resisted the instinct.

"Whatever it is, it's never too embarrassing," Asahi reassured him, remembering some of the embarrassing things they've said to each other in the past. Noya smiled and opened his mouth.

"As soon as Yuuji told me I'd have to sleep alone after all, I felt really lonely. Plus I'm worried about his mom."

Asahi nodded and shifted to the far side of the bed.  _I can't believe I'm going to do this. God, Asahi, you're so selfish!_ "You can sleep here if you want. I can face the other way and we won't even have to touch each other with how big the bed is."

Noya hesitated, swaying back and forth.  _Well now he thinks you're weird!_ Then the slender man hoisted his legs onto the bed. "How clothed are you?"

The brunet felt like he was going to die. "My boxers."

"I've seen you in less," Noya remarked, and suddenly Asahi was grateful for the darkness, as he felt as red as a tomato as memories of him and Noya skinnydipping in his pool flooded him.  _I might have to ask him to leave if my mind keeps doing this..._

Instead of teasing Asahi a bit more, Noya settled down and slipped under the sheets. Asahi tried not to focus on that too much as he turned to face the opposite direction. He felt Noya wiggle around before going still.

"Goodnight, Asahi-san."

_What?_

Asahi tried to not let it get to him, but it did.  _It's been so long since he called me that. And so suddenly, and when we're about to share a bed while we sleep? He's going to be the death of me._ All thoughts and reminders that Yuuji was his boyfriend went out of the window as he overreacted to the small gesture. He couldn't tell how, but this thinking had exhausted him even more, and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for 100+ hits my dudes!  
> The feel of Asahi with Noya: I'm trying to pull from my own life and feelings. I used to date one of my friends, so I'm pulling the feelings of it and trying to put them into words here. Minus the whole still in love with them bit (I don't love the guy romantically anymore). I hope I'm doing a good job, as putting my feelings into words is something I struggle with.


	12. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi has decided what he wants to do but doesn't tell anyone else. Noya has been noticing a change in the former's behaviour lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe two more chapters after this one? It depends on how I'm going to finish the story.

When Asahi awoke the next morning, the bed beside him was empty. He couldn't smell Noya anymore, so he assumed the man had gotten up hours ago. A quick glance to the clock across the room told him it was nine, which made Asahi wonder why Noya had left so early.  _Maybe he felt weird and left. I know I would have if I were him._ Asahi sat up and brushed the hair out of his face, which was tangled, as usual.

Brushing his hair normally took a while, so it gave him plenty of time to think. The brush was back on the dresser - Asahi would have to thank Yuuji for that later. He grabbed it and went to work.

_There has to be another reason why Nishinoya came to sleep with me. He doesn't get scared often. That could moreso be worry for Yuuji's family though._

As he worked on the back of his head, a thought formed there:  _what if he likes you?_

 _No way._ Asahi pushed it away and put the brush down, now searching the messy dresser for a shirt and a pair of shorts. He found a white tank top and a pair of shorts that were probably Yuuji's, but they both had clothes that looked so alike that neither of them cared when they wore each other's clothes.

 _"It's like we gained a whole new wardrobe for free!"_ Yuuji had said. Asahi had told him that was a funny way of thinking about a relationship, but Yuuji convinced him it was alright. Asahi slipped the outfit on and headed to the bathroom to shave. When he left his room he was met with the cheery voice of Yuuji's.

"Looking sexy today, babe!" Yuuji dramatically winked at him from where he sat on the couch. Noya was in the kitchen, pouring coffee for the two of them. He turned around to see what the ruckus was about and stuttered on the sight of Asahi.

"Looks like I'll have to make another cup," he briskly commented, reaching into the cupboard for another mug. "What do you want in your coffee?"

Asahi's heart dropped at the reaction.  _Did you really expect him to do anything?_ "Uh, just a teaspoon of sugar and two tablespoons milk, thanks."

Noya nodded and began measuring everything out, so Asahi entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He grabbed all his shaving things from the cabinet and got to work.

 _Did I want Nishinoya to react like Yuuji? Why am I acting so weird around him lately?_ Asahi paused to sneeze.  _Am I actually falling in love with him again?_

He eventually decided that he'd find out if Noya liked him first, as opposed to doing anything big. He planned to walk Noya to work since they both did around the same time and his work was in the direction of Noya's anyways.

_I think I'm in love with him..._

* * *

Noya placed the last mug on the table and called Yuuji over. The blond kissed him as he grabbed a bagel from the counter. "You could have been getting that bagel this whole time, you know?"

"I'm lazy and stupid, don't judge me," Yuuji giggled and grabbed a knife to cut it in half. Then Asahi came out of the bathroom, hair tied up and face freshly shaven. Noya noticed that he still didn't shave the spot where his scar was. Yuuji squealed in delight and ran over to him. "Why do you look so hot today?"

Asahi blushed and looked away. "Okay, now I'm definitely changing before heading out to work." Before he could say anything else, Yuuji pulled him down and gave him a long, deep kiss.

The shortest of the three rolled his eyes and turned away, working on grabbing a bowl of cereal - Cheerios, to be specific. By the time he finished making the bowl, he turned around and could see that the two were still practically eating each other.

"I know we all made an agreement, but come on. Right in front of my breakfast?"

Yuuji laughed at the reference, pulling away. "Sorry," he continued when his laughing bout stopped. "But can you blame me?"

Noya raised an eyebrow and glanced at Asahi. He could swear the giant flinched when he did so. "Not really, I guess. I mean, if you were dressed like that I would definitely want to take you right here."

This caused Asahi to turn completely red and Yuuji to come back to his bagel. Noya smiled and sat down at the table, sipping his coffee. He always hated coffee, so he didn't know why he was drinking it now. Maybe it was peer pressure, maybe he was beginning to like it. Finally, the two others had joined him with their breakfasts in hand. Ashai had grabbed some leftovers from the night before and ate them cold. After a few minutes of hungry munching, Asahi spoke.

"Nishinoya, you work around the same time as I do, right?"

"Yes."

"Did you want to walk to work together then?"

"But isn't your work like, a long way away?"

Asahi pouted. "I can walk fast, you know!"

Noya smiled, enjoying the pout. "I'm kidding. Of course I'll walk with you!"

The brunet smiled. "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me," Noya asked. "Do you need me to protect you from people as thirsty as Yuuji from trying to make out with you in front of me?"

"N-no!" Asahi panicked. "I'm changing into different clothes, and I just want to spend time with you!"

 _That's cute._ Noya had left Asahi's bed early that morning as soon as he woke up, which was around five. He didn't know why he had woken up, but he wanted to leave in case his sleepy self thought Asahi was Yuuji and tried to cuddle with him.

They hurried to finish their meals after that, realizing that if they didn't they'd be late. Asahi rushed into his room to change, and Yuuji pulled Noya close. "What's this?" the latter remarked cheekily. "Want to make out with me too?"

Yuuji shook his head. "I'm just happy he's wanting to spend time with you. I think it's a bit weird for him, as we're also together and you're his ex and all. And especially after what Tanaka-kun said about him."

"I just want to be friends with him again."

The blond smiled and kissed him softly. "Thank you."

Noya pressed their foreheads together, loving the warm feeling that spread through him at Yuuji's touch. He never wanted this moment to end. But as soon as it began, Asahi stepped out of the bedroom, now donning longer shorts and a dressy t-shirt. Noya stepped back and Yuuji turned around.

"You're not showing all your muscles off, but you're still sexy as hell."

Asahi smiled. "I knew you were going to say something like that." He picked up his bag, which was still laying on the floor next to his shoes from the last time he worked and turned to Noya. "We should get going."

The smaller nodded and gave Yuuji a quick kiss, grabbing his phone from the table. "We'll see you when we get back!"

Yuuji pouted. "But by the time you guys get back, I'll be at work."

"Then we'll see you when you get back, alright?" Noya placed a hand on his shoulder, to which Yuuji nodded.

"Goodbye!" They all exchanged, and off Asahi and Noya went. The two fit nicely on the sidewalk - mainly because Noya took up less than half of it - and there was no need to get packed together. However, Noya noticed Asahi glancing at him and swerving around his section of the pathway. Noya thought nothing of it at first, thinking that he was just nervous being alone near him after last night. He had to admit that sleeping in Asahi's bed  _was_ a weird thing to do, but what was even weirder was that Asahi let him.

_Maybe it's because of his inability to say no on most matters. He'd let someone rob him if the situation came up, I bet._

By now they had been walking in silence ever since they left the apartment, so Noya wanted to say something. "About last night-"

As he spoke, Asahi's hand had brushed against his.  _I didn't know he had veered so close_. He looked up to see the giant staring at him. Asahi gasped and looked away.

"Sorry."

Noya pursed his lips. "From how you've been walking so far, I don't think that was an accident. Are you okay, Azu?"

The man in question coughed. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

 _Well, you seem to be wanting something from me, and you're walking unusually close to me. Just now, touching my hand made you nervous as hell._ "You've been acting really weird today."

"Look, it's your stop!" The brunett distracted, pointing at the game store. Noya huffed, frustrated that Asahi was being so stubborn today. The former punched the latter's shoulder, to which he complained.

"Well, that's what you get for being so weird today, Azu!" Noya turned to stride into the store to get ready for his shift, but Asahi's voice stopped him.

"Asahi."

"Huh?"

Noya spun back around, curious. The giant averted his eyes.

"You can call me Asahi if you want to."

This made Noya smile wide. He couldn't tell why - it just did.

"Alright, Asahi-san!"

* * *

When Noya got back to the apartment after work, Asahi had arrived first. He was sprawled out on the couch with an arm draped over his face. Noya could hear soft breathing, which told him he was asleep. He slipped into his bedroom and changed into pyjamas. As he changed, he wondered what they could make for dinner that night. But before that thought could get far, he heard a rustling from the living room and Asahi's yawning.

"Hey, you're finally awake," Noya remarked, poking his head out from his curtain. The sleepy brunett smiled and looked at himself.

"I didn't even make it to my room. How silly."

"Did you have a rough day?"

Asahi groaned. "A seven-year old's birthday party. People really need to teach their kids some basic manners, and that they're not allowed to throw open paint bottles at each other."

Noya cringed. "Damn."

Then Asahi stood up, stretching and walking to his room. "Put on a movie for us, please. I need something to distract me."

 _Why does this feel planned? And why am I thinking that?_ The thought of Asahi wanting to spend time with him made Noya happy. The past few times it was just the two of them, everything went wrong or felt too awkward to enjoy. So he bounced over to the TV and browsed their streaming service. He eventually found something mild for them to watch.

A laugh sounded behind him. "Iron Man? Of course you would want to watch it."

"You have a problem with that?" Noya turned around. "I can change it."

"No, it's fine." Asahi shook his head and sat down close to him. He was wearing the sheer tank top and shorts from earlier that day. The smaller could smell his deodorant, which he found kind of hot if he were to admit it. Noya pushed the thought away and pressed play.

As the movie went on, Noya was laughing and getting excited at all the right points, to a confused and baffled Asahi. During one of the quiet parts though, Noya felt Asahi's arm move close to him.  _Oh?_ He thought, watching Asahi clench his fist - a habit he does when he's nervous.

Then the hand smoothed out and stretched closer to him, crawling up his leg to rest on his lower thigh. The touch sparked inside his chest, but something felt off. He knew this wasn't an accident from the way the giant moved (and how much he was sweating). So Noya decided to get cheeky. He placed his hand on the larger one and pulled it up his thigh even further.

"What are you doing?" shrieked Asahi, jerking his hand away. Noya frowned, as that what was he was going to ask.

"No, what are  _you_ doing? You're going around and touching other men while you have a boyfriend!"

"You moved my hand up on your own!"

Noya huffed and grabbed the remote, pausing the movie, which had begun to get fast-paced again. "Why are you acting so weird today? You've been staring at me like you're expecting something to happen. Then when we were walking together you walk all crookedly and try to hold my hand. Now you're touching my thighs!"

Asahi took a deep breath, crossing his arms and turning pink. "Shut up!" He stood up and stormed off into his room, slamming the door behind him. Noya just stared, mouth agape. He could feel a tear forming in his eye as he turned the TV off and slunk into his section, pulling himself onto the bed and mulling in confusion and sadness.

 _I mean, I did accuse him of cheating on Yuuji. Why is he acting so weird?_ He couldn't tell how much time had passed - he may have even fallen asleep - but he soon heard the front door click open.

"I'm home, my beauties!"

No matter how bad Noya felt, he had to smile at his boyfriend's greeting. But he couldn't bring himself to get up like he usually would.

"Oh," he heard Yuuji sigh. "What happened?"

"Here," Noya managed to croak out. The sound surprised him, then he realized he had been crying.  _I hate fighting with Azu. This feeling is horrible. I hate feeling it. This has to stop._

A few seconds went by before Yuuji's face poked from the curtains. He looked concerned and he crawled onto the bed to lay beside him. "What happened?" he coaxed in a soft voice.

Noya hiccuped. "Azu and I had a small fight." He then dove into everything that had happened, even mentioning how Asahi told him to call him by his first name to the touching of his thigh. Yuuji said nothing, only softly running his fingers through Noya's hair and wiping away his tears.

Yuuji paused to take in all the information. "Would you like me to talk to Asahi about it?"

He slowly nodded and watched Yuuji get up, leaving the space. Noya heard Yuuji softly knock on the bedroom door before opening it. He sighed and closed his eyes, sending a prayer for things to be alright.

* * *

As soon as Yuuji found out his boyfriends had fought, he was bent on making things right. The thought shook him, as the last time the two had fount things had ended violently.  _The last thing we need is someone getting injured badly_. When he offered to talk to Asahi, he was happy to hear that Noya wanted him to. He knocked on their bedroom door and entered anyways when Asahi didn't answer. The later was curled up in the bed, his hair dishevelled and tank top strap dangling. In any other situation, Yuuji would have found it cute, but in the circumstance and Asahi's puffy face, it was anything but.

"Asahi, what happened?"

Only a grunt sounded in response.  _He never does this._ "Did either of you lay hands on the other?"

The giant rolled over to face Yuuji, sniffling. "Everything went wrong. God, why am I so fucking stupid? What is preventing me from conveying my thoughts and emotions properly?"

"Please," Yuuji's heart felt like shattering at his boyfriend's words. "Just tell me what happened and we can all fix it together."

Asahi let out a sob and hit the wall behind him. "Nishinoya."

The blond sat beside him. He didn't prompt anything, as Asahi needed to say this on his own. "Small argument. We didn't physically fight this time."

Neither of them said anything. Yuuji gently pulled the hair out of the loosening hair tie. The corner's of Asahi's lips raised the slightest bit.

"Yuuji, you know our agreement?"

His heart felt like stopping.  _Will we have to end it all now? Everything was going so well. Was I wrong to think that?_

"Yuuji?"

The blond gulped. "Yes. What about it?"

"If Nishinoya agrees, can we make it full-circle?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know exactly how this is going to end but aaaa my writing skills are not good enough for that lol.  
> By the way, there are officially two more chapters after this! I hate to see this story end, but at the same time, I'm excited to write the last chapterr!


	13. Full Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noya's mind raced as he lay on his bed. He's going to kick me out. Everything has gone wrong. Before he could begin to pack all his clothes back into the boxes he hadn't gotten around to throwing away, Yuuji's face appeared once more.
> 
> "Can you come int the bedroom?"
> 
> The shorter nodded and followed him over. The door was ajar and squeaked as it was pushed wide. Asahi was sitting on the bed, knees tucked into his chest. He looked Noya in the eyes as he entered as if searching for an answer he dreaded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is really short. Quality over quantity?  
> This was the right length I decided upon while drafting, as it wasn't too short (like the first chapter) but not overly long (like the 4k party chapter)

Noya's mind raced as he lay on his bed.  _He's going to kick me out. Everything has gone wrong._ Before he could begin to pack all his clothes back into the boxes he hadn't gotten around to throwing away, Yuuji's face appeared once more.

"Can you come int the bedroom?"

The shorter nodded and followed him over. The door was ajar and squeaked as it was pushed wide. Asahi was sitting on the bed, knees tucked into his chest. He looked Noya in the eyes as he entered as if searching for an answer he dreaded.

Yuuji climbed up and sat beside him, motioning for Noya to join. Noya hopped up and sat across from them.

"So, what's happening?"

Asahi swallowed. "I'm sorry for overreacting back there. There was something I was trying to do that I shouldn't have been."

Instead of remarking sharply as he normally would, the way Asahi spoke soothed his nerves in a way they hadn't in a long time. "Go on," he pleaded.

The giant smiled softly and nodded. "I think what I've been trying to say for the past few days is that I love you."

 _Oh._ "I..."

Panic seemed to flash in Yuuji's gaze for the faintest heartbeat. Then it disappeared as he saw that Noya wasn't reacting negatively.

"I love you too, I guess."

Asahi released his grip on his legs, rearranging his position. "Do you think we could do a full-circle arrangement?" he asked towards Yuuji specifically. "I mean, we're all in love with each other, so I would think it's the best thing to do in a situation like this."

Yuuji covered his mouth. "I'm so proud of you two."

"Why?" they asked together.

"You two were able to solve this and admit your feelings without shouting and violence."

The bitter memory flashed in Noya's mind for the nth time. It hurt to think about, but he was partly thankful for it. Without that scene, he wouldn't have found such an amazing relationship most will never experience. "I hate how that ended. But I guess it had to happen for  _this_ to fruit, right?"

"Fruit? But we aren't plants?"

Yuuji and Noya burst put laughing. "Dude," Noya explained. "By that I mean this situation happening. Our fight so long ago sent a chain of chemical reactions that lead up to this right here."

Asahi laughed at himself. "Right."

Noya fought back the urge to kiss him right there. Instead, he crawled over and wrapped an arm around Asahi and another around Yuuji, bringing them all together. Yuuji was quick to return the embrace, but Asahi hesitated. Before Noya could think of pulling away, Asahi brought his arm around the smallest's waist and pulled him tight to himself, stealing him from Yuuji.

The feeling tingled his heart. It felt as if Asahi had wanted to do this for so long, which Noya could reciprocate that feeling in a way. Noya sniffed and allowed the giant to sweep him up.

"Asahi."

The man smiled. "Yuu."

They were so caught up in each other they didn't notice that Yuuji had left them.  _Probably to leave us to this moment. Thank you, Yuuji._

"Asahi, I wanna cuddle."

"Bold words from the one who rejected my touch an hour ago."

"Well, we weren't together an hour ago."

The brunett hummed and collapsed on his back, bringing Noya with him. The two lay together for a few minutes, just enjoying the familiarity of each other's warmth. As the seconds ticked by, Noya felt more compelled to see if Asahi's lips were the same as they were so long ago...

"I'm back!" Yuuji announced as he knocked at the door.

"Why did you have to announce that? And why did you leave?" Noya asked when the blond barged in.

Yuuji smirked and Asahi gasped. Noya looked up at him, wondering what his reaction meant. As Yuuji twirled around gleefully, Noya caught a glimpse of what Yuuji was hiding behind his back.  _Condoms?_

"Just wanted to make sure you guys do it properly the first time!" His smirk radiated through the two.

Asahi groaned and sat up. "If we were going to have sex - which we're not - it wouldn't be my first time anyways. But, thank you."

Noya nodded in agreement. The blond in front of them smiled and tossed the objects aside where they landed beside their laundry bin. Yuuji threw himself at the bed, landing between the two. Asahi groaned as a protest, to which Yuuji just kissed his chin.

"Have I told you two how much I love you?"

"Many times," Asahi whispered.

"Here's to many more!" Noya said, hugging them both. They smiled at this.

* * *

 _It's too hot for this late in the evening. It still feels like it's midday!_ Urayama wiped the growing sweat off her forehead as she stopped to take another drink from her water bottle. Something inside her told her that she just had to go on a walk today, so she did. She looked around and adjusted her glasses. In the distance, a group of boys laid out on a blanket under the willow tree. She recognized them as her students Terushima and Azumane. There was another smaller one with them, who she vaguely remembered as the man Azumane had found at the art show.

They all had ice cream and were chatting slowly, just enjoying their night. Urayama smiled as she watched them.  _I know this looks creepy, but I can't help myself_. Something surprised her though - Azumane was holding the smallest's hand while resting his head on Terushima's shoulder. The smallest jumped up and tackled Terushima the best he could with one arm, aggressively kissing him.

 _Well, that's new._ She stepped away, going back to her walk.  _I guess they've figured everything out then. That's great_. Urayama laughed to herself as she walked into the heavy bush. Part of her wanted to run back and say hello and meet their new companion, but she knew that next school year she'll hear about him enough. So she settled back into her walk in the setting sunlight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is Urayama-sensei walking in the forest at dusk? Because I have no concept of time that's why.  
> Thank you for waiting! I hope this is good enough lol.  
> One more chapter. I don't want this to end but I want to conclude this as fast as possible because this was a 200 follower special for my Tumblr and now I have over double that lol. Thank you for reading!!!


	14. Conclusions and Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the sun rises inside their cramped apartment, it's as if the moment can continue forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm crying.

Yuuji groaned and turned over, trying to escape the sun that blared through the curtains.  _What happened to our plans for blackout curtains?_ The blond was met by a small back and dark brown hair. The slight shock of the body caused him to roll back into the large arms that reached out to him.

"Yuuji," Asahi whispered. "That's just Yuu, remember?"

He suddenly felt silly. Last night they had decided to try sleeping in one bed together. Noya wasn't comfortable sleeping with Asahi yet, so they decided that Yuuji would sleep in the middle for the time being. Shaking out of his thoughts, he turned to face Asahi.

"Yeah. He's so cute when he's sleeping!"

"Quiet, he'll wake up!" the giant shushed him and placed a hand over his mouth. But it was too late, as the smallest let out a huge groan and rolled over to spoon Yuuji.

"Whoever was kicking me in the back is getting their coffee spat in today," he complained, nuzzling between Yuuji's shoulders.

Yuuji laughed. "Your actions contradict your speech, love."

Only a groan came in response. The blond sighed and remembered the struggle to move Noya's things into the room.

_Noya placed the box on the ground. "You still haven't gotten that new couch."_

_Asahi laughed. "Your futon will be the new couch."_

_"Something tells me that you didn't spill ramen on the old one," he paused as the taller two shared a look. "Come on, what was it?"_

_"Well, when we first moved in together Asahi here lost his virginity on it, so he's kind of attached to it in a weird way."_

_The giant buried his face in his hands. "Yuuji!" Noya recoiled._

_"I pity anybody who had to sleep on it afterwards." He began to walk away to grab a drink, but a hand tapped his shoulder. Noya turned around to meet Yuuji face-to-face, who quickly pinned him to the wall._

_"Want to lose yours on it too?"_

_Noya's heart fluttered and a shiver crept through him. "N-not yet!"_

_Asahi burst out laughing at the scene, ruining Yuuji's slow movement to the smaller's mouth._

Yuuji sighed.  _I definitely would have if he agreed._ He watched as Noya reached over him to pat Asahi's arm. "I think it would be hot if we had sex all together one day."

This made Asahi stutter and roll over in embarrassment. Noya sat up and straddled Yuuji. "Come on, it would be fun! Maybe not today, but sometime in the future?"

"You two are too much," The giant muttered, rolling back over. He smiled and leaned up, meeting Noya in a long kiss. Yuuji hugged them.

 _I'm so happy we worked this out. I love them so much. This won't last forever, but I'm glad we're where we are for now._ They pulled away from each other, Noya slightly panting.

Noya's heart swelled at the sight of Asahi's hair-covered, unshaven face. Yuuji cast him back to reality with a touch on his waist.  _There's no rush between any of us. We all do things at our own pace. That's amazing. I'm so glad I ran into that poor girl so long ago._ Then Asahi pushed him off Yuuji and pinned them both down.

Asahi wrapped them up, partly laying on them now. He ignored their protests to get off, favouring to throw a leg over Noya and pulling him into another deep kiss. As he was about to slip him his tongue, Yuuji forced him away by the hair and forcefully made out with him. He pulled away, telling them to stop.

"Asahi," Noya pouted. "You started this, so how can you be telling us to stop."

 _You look way too cute to be pouting right now. God, I love you too so much._ "I guess you're right, but I don't know what would happen if we continue and I don't want to rush you into anything."

Noya smiled and hugged them tightly.

As the sun rose over the Miyagi prefecture, a group of men woke up together for the first time. A small event, but large for the three of them. The future of their relationship may be unknown, but that was what pulled them in. Three lovers wake up in the sunlight, ready to take on the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If y'all are thirsty and content-starved I'd definitely write that threesome if you want)  
> .  
> Thank you to those who stuck out the awful update times and inconsistent story until the end! The last bit feels weird - I can't seem to put into words what I want to say to end it, but I hope you liked this story! I can't guarantee when it will happen, but a prequel to this story is in the works. To keep up with what I'm writing, follow my Tumblr a-asahiprotectionsquad.  
> .  
> Have a good day!!


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